Tag Archives: Power of the Force II

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0050: Cantina at Mos Eisley

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

CANTINA AT MOS EISLEY with SANDTROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

Hey, who’s ready for a thematic tie-in?  I sure am! Yesterday, I looked at one of two cardboard playsets released during Power of the Force II.  The first released of those two actually was a more direct callback to the original Kenner run, a Mos Eisley Cantina, and I’ve looked at that one, albeit tangentially, via the figure it was later released at retail with following a run as a mail-away, who I reviewed back in 2020, making this a Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, following up on the Sandtrooper!

“Their remote location makes the spaceports of Tatooine havens for the varied masses from across the galaxy. At the seedy Mos Eisley spaceport, this variety is more than evident at the main hangout, Chalmun’s Cantina. The most loathsome of Mos Eisley’s population can regularly be found there, including imperial sandtroopers, who are deployed by the Empire to quell outbursts with brutal efficiency. In the days before the Galactic Empire, the spaceport of Mos Espa hosted a similar reputation as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” From the outdoor markets to the junk shops – overseen by the gambling crimelords, the Hutts – Mos Espa was a place where a nine-year old boy could learn the ways of the universe.”

Hey, remember how I’ve got all these Power of the Force figures I can review? Great, I don’t have to remind you why I’m doing this review, then. I’ve looked at all manner of Stormtrooper variants, many of them from this very line, but today I’m kind of doubling back and looking at a variant of a variant. Oh man, how crazy is that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Sandtrooper was released in 1998, accompanying a 3D display diorama of the Mos Eisley Cantina. He was the actual figure used to sell a bunch of cardboard, wrapped in cardboard. Neat trick, I suppose. We had gotten a standard, run of the mill Sandtrooper in the main line, but this one aimed to be different enough to make collector’s buy. Guess it worked. According to expanded universe materials, this guy actually has a name. He’s Davin Felth, the trooper who says “Look sir, droids!” while they’re searching on Tatooine. And now you know that. Don’t you feel like your life has meaning now? The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. He uses the same head, torso, and pelvis as the single-carded Sandtrooper, but gets a new set of arms and legs. It’s still the super goofy PotF2 trooper build, but by this time things were starting to be a little bit more toned down. Those arms and legs are definitely less bulked up compared to prior troopers. His pose is also a more neutral one, but, in an interesting turn of events, he’s not really able to do anything but hold that one neutral pose. He looks like he’s standing guard (which makes sense for the playset he came with), meaning he’s designed to hold his weapon in a non-battle stance. He can’t actually hold it by the handle, due to the relative posing of his arms. The paint on this guy is also toned down from the prior Sandtrooper. He’s still got a little bit of weathering, but it’s nowhere near as intense. His pauldron has changed colors to mark a change in rank, with it being white instead of orange. For some reason, the black section has also changed to a light grey, which is an odd choice. Moving further down, the figure has also lost the black detailing at the elbows that prior troopers had, which does look a little weird. The Sandtrooper was packed with a blaster rifle and a patrol droid (missing from mine) which plugged into his back.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As part of my goal of getting all the figures from the PotF2 line, I’m having to track down some of the more odd-ball releases as well, which includes this guy. I ended up getting ahold of one from a loose collection that was traded into All Time, though he was missing the droid piece. He’s not a bad figure. I actually like him quite a bit, certainly more than I was expecting to.

That’s a May 2020 review up there, meaning I wrote this review in the midst of the pandemic shutdown, when I had a *lot* of reviewing time on my hands.  My notable backlog of Power of the Force figures was certainly an asset during that stretch of time.  I definitely got a little more quippy during that period, for sure.  Hey, comedy gets you through it, I guess.  The review of the figure holds up fine, so no issues there.  Pandemic Ethan knew what he was talking about.  The figure proper was missing his Scanning Droid, which I have subsequently tracked down.  It’s a pretty fun piece, and it plugs into the spot originally meant for his survival pack, which is a clever re-use of the spot.

The main omission, of course, was the actual playset.  It’s similar in concept to the Jabba’s Palace, and has a similar footprint.  The exact layout’s a bit different, though, with walls that fully enclose it, and a lack of raised platforms, instead placing the emphasis on the central bar, as well as the two included booths with tables.  I think it ends up working a bit better in terms of potential use with the figures, and there’s a general feeling of better stability to the whole thing, which I do really like.

#3948: Jabba’s Palace

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

JABBA’S PALACE with HAN SOLO in CARBONITE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“As one of a species known to live for at least one thousand years, Jabba the Hutt had plenty of time to build up his ill-gotten empire. No other crime lord lived in such luxurious, palatial surroundings, where his every need was immediately attended to by members of his court and a large collection of slaves. The repulsive, slug-like Hutt had his fingers in just about every unseemly activity known, from elaborate smuggling operations to his early days on Tatooine when gambling on Podraces was as big as the sport itself.”

When the original Star Wars line launched under Kenner, they had one proper playset, based on the Death Star, but in order to further expand the line at a smaller budget, they also partnered with Sears to offer another playset, based on the Mos Eisley Cantina, which, to save on tooling costs, was made out of card stock.  This was repeated for Empire, which saw a similarly card stock Cloud City playset.  By the time of Jedi, they didn’t need to concern themselves with tooling costs as much, so no card stock sets were crafted for that one.  When bringing the line back in the ‘90s, Kenner/Hasbro went back to that particular well, though, and we got a couple of new ones, including a Jedi-based one, Jabba’s Palace.

THE SET ITSELF

Jabba’s Palace was released as part of the “3-D Display Diorama” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II in 1998, officially under the Hasbro brand, not the Kenner one.  Included in the set was the fold-out Palace playset, an exclusive Han Solo figure, and some associated accessories.

The main set is, as noted, made from card board.  It’s based on the throne room of Jabba’s Palace as seen in the movie’s opening sequences.  Or, at least an approximation of it, which lets you get all of the main story focus spots into one main area.  The set has a footprint that’s about 25 inches long, and includes Jabba’s throne, the grate in front of it that leads to the Rancor’s pit, the entryway with the stairs, and the trophy wall that held Han in his carbonite slab.  The whole thing folds out without too much trouble, and tabs together without much issue.  The printing is generally pretty nice, and there’s a respectable amount of simulated texturing.  The only real downside is that some of the raised elements don’t hold weight especially well.  They do overall better than expected, especially Jabba’s throne, but the spot where the carbonite slab should go isn’t very good at supporting that weight.  Still, there’s plenty of space for spreading out the many denizens of the palace released over the course of the line.

The included exclusive Han Solo marks the second time the line did Han in Carbonite, following up on a solo release in ’96.  This one was based more specifically on his look immediately after being unfrozen, when he’s all…damp.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  He uses the same legs as the last version, but is otherwise a unique sculpt.  It’s certainly different.  Is it better?  In some ways.  They did at least actually get his shirt right this time around, and the added movement on the elbows is very handy.  The head’s not really any more Ford resemblant than the early release figures, but he’s got the wet and sweaty slicked back hair, which is accurate to the scene and also hides the likeness a touch.  I’m not sure exactly what’s going on with his facial expression, but it’s at least different from the other Han figures.  The paint only exaggerates the oddness of the face, with those strange eyebrows.  The rest of the paint is decent enough.  Han is packed with a pair of manacles, as well as a version of the carbonite block that has a spot where Han was thawed out.  The figure fits well in the spot, but there’s no real way for it to stay upright with him in it, which is annoying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is one of those sets I remember seeing a few times as a kid.  I don’t know that I fully understood what it was, and I mostly just remember the Han with carbonite.  Since I already had the standard one, I didn’t see much need for this one at the time.  Obviously, my opinion on that shifted, since I, you know, own one and all.  The Palace is a pretty simple thing, but I think it really works well as a backdrop for the figures.  Han’s fine, but definitely goofy.  Still, not a bad set, all things considered.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3944: Millennium Falcon CD-ROM Playset

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

MILLENNIUM FALCON CD-ROM PLAYSET with HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO INTERACTIVE)

“Explore 7 Worlds of the Star Wars galaxy! Battle TIE Fighters, search for the Death Star and destroy the Empire!”

Are you guys ready for things to get weird?  Okay, so, you *are* reading a review on a toy review site that’s nosing in on 4000 entries, so maybe weird’s a bit relative.  Are you ready to jump into some of the weird marketing strangeness of the ‘90s?  Yeah, of course you are!  In the midst of the success of the Power of the Force relaunch in the ‘90s, Kenner got bored with just doing basic toy stuff, and really started just trying a little bit of everything to see what stuck.  The back half of the decade saw household computers become a lot more common, and CD-ROM based media was seen as the thing to get into.  Toy Biz did a whole set of Marvel figures that included CD-ROMs with digital comics, but Kenner/Hasbro needed to do better than that, so they built a whole interactive platform.  Like, literally.  It was a platform that you put over your keyboard and it let the figures “interact” with your computer.  Welp, let’s check this thing out.

THE TOY ITSELF

The Millennium Falcon CD-ROM Playset was added to the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line in 1998 as a standalone piece.  It was released not by Kenner, but rather by the Hasbro Interactive division, because of its more computer-based side.  Included were the actual Falcon playset, an exclusive Han Solo figure, and a Windows 95-compatible CD-ROM with a “game” featuring 7 different locales that you can “guide” the playset through.  I, unfortunately, don’t have a Windows 95 PC these days, so I was unable to try out the game.  I know.  For shame.

The bulk of what’s included here is the playset.  It’s a sizable chunk of the innards of the Millennium Falcon, largely focusing on the main cockpit, but also including one of the gunner stations, so that you have some options.  It’s a pretty large set-up, which does actually give you some space for fitting in a bunch of the figures.  It’s notable for actually giving us a pretty nicely sized take on the cockpit, which were don’t usually see.  In fact, it’s a bit too large, which isn’t the direction you’re used to seeing.  It’s also somewhat comedic that, for as much space as there is included, they still don’t give you all four seats.  That said, there are the two seats for Han and Chewie, as well as two spots with pegs for additional figures.  In terms of sculpting, it’s all pretty rudimentary stuff.  Not a lot of smaller technical details, and it’s soft even by the standards of the other offerings around it.  It does at least have a neat visual presence.  The whole thing is designed to go over a standard sized (at the time, anyway) QWERTY keyboard, placing the weight on the outside sections.  There’s even a strap meant to hold it in place, lest the children get to vigorous in their playing.  The three seats, the two spots for the standing figures, and three different spots on the central console are all capable of pushing down, and through use of springs, they can correspond to the keys to “interact” with what’s on the computer screen in front of them, which will appear through the set’s widow.

In order to really tie it into the line, there’s an included Han Solo, who’s exclusive to here.  Nowhere else to get him.  Unless, of course, you just opted to get the very similar figure from the gunner stations line from the prior year who was likely still available and retailed for 1/4 of this item.  But this one’s got knees!  This figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation, which, yes, includes the knees.  On the flip side, though, he loses the waist swivel that was standard for the rest of the line.  This is Han with the headset and gloves, seen most prominently during the gunner station sequence when they’re being chased by the TIE Fighters.  It’s a sculpt that’s similar but not identical to the gunner station one.  It’s different for different’s sake.  It’s still on the old Han likeness, so it doesn’t look much like Ford, and he’s still a little bulked up.  Generally, though, it’s not a bad figure, just a bit redundant.  The paint’s more or less the same, which is to say it’s fairly basic and not terribly exciting.  He doesn’t get any accessories of his own, but by this point in the line, everyone had, like, 50 Han Solo blasters, so you can just give him one of those.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I did not own this set as a kid.  I did look at this set *sooooooooooooooooo* many times on the shelves at CompUSA, where it was the only toy that was ever carried.  My dad was in IT and had to make a lot of trips there for work, and there this set would sit.  I thought it was cool, but there was no way I was getting it for its retail price.  Instead, I got it many years later, when I had my own job and my own money, and no one could stop me.  It came in through All Time Toys a number of years back, and it was still very cheap at the time, so boom, I had one.  It’s goofy.  There’s no denying that.  But, it’s also kind of a cool display piece, even removed from the whole CD-ROM thing.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this item for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3940: Max Rebo & Doda Bodonawieedo

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

MAX REBO & DODA BODONAWIEEDO

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Thus far this month, I’ve dedicated my weekly Star Wars reviews to looking into members of the Max Rebo Band, so it can’t come as a terrible shock that I’m continuing that today, especially given the as to now lack of, you know, the guy what the band’s named after.  He’s kind of important, right?  Good ol’ Max?  Funky blue elephant looking guy? Guy who, per the Robot Chicken sketch, has a gig tonight? That’s the guy.  And he’s even here with a not-Greedo-playing-a-clarinet guy.  So, let’s wrap up the band and take a look at these two today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Max Rebo and Doda Bodonawieedo are the third and final of the three “Max Rebo Band Pairs” two-packs released as a Walmart-exclusive Star Wars: Power of the Force II offering in 1998.  Once more it pairs an original band member with one of the additional embers from the special edition.

MAX REBO

The centerpiece of this whole thing, Maximillian “Max” Rebo (or “Siiruulian Phantele” as was his original name in the pre-Disney days) was portrayed in the original film by puppeteer Simon Williamson, who was originally meant to play a different band member, who didn’t work out for production.  Rebo was of course offered up in the vintage Kenner line, which did its best to interpret him in figure form based on what little we see of him in the film.  As such, he was made a more humanoid character, with legs hiding behind his instrument, as opposed to only having legs, which he uses to play.  This was adapted into other sources, and became the standard for the pre-Disney era depictions of him, which included this figure.  The figure stands about 3 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His articulation is generally pretty restricted, but he at least does get decent motion on his shoulders, which is good for posing with his instrument.  The sculpt on Max is really great.  It matches his design well, and works in plenty of texturing on his skin, giving him that proper “guy in a rubber suit” feel.  Rebo’s color work is fun, with his bright, vibrant blue implemented well, and the accenting adding a nice pop to the general look of the character.  Max is packed with his red ball organ, a rather extensive and elaborate instrument that he can be slotted into the middle of.  It’s by far the most impressive instrument included here, and honestly one of the line’s most impressive accessories in general.

DODA BODONAWIEEDO

The rather silly name “Doda Bodonawieedo” was first introduced to this Special Edition addition to the band with this very figure, which is pretty nifty, while also still being silly.  Doda is one of two Rodians added to the band in the Special Edition; the Greedo design was one of those distinctive ones, so it makes sense to give it a bit more play.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His movement is the standard stuff for the line, but like Barquin, he’s rather preposed, in order to hold his instrument properly.  The sculpt’s a nice one, capturing the Rodian head design really well, as well as working well with his outfit and posing.  Again, a lot of similarities to Barquin in this area, which I can certainly dig.  His coloring keeps the usual green for the Rodians, contrasting it with reds and oranges, which helps him stand out pretty nicely from the rest of the band.  Doda is packed with his own instrument, which apparently is just a “horn” with no fancy space name or anything. It does gets some pretty neat paint work, so that’s pretty cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I found the other members of the band, the only one *not* present in the collection was Max himself, which was sort of humorous, but also quite annoying.  I’ve been keeping tabs on loose Max Rebos ever since, but wasn’t having much luck.  I ultimately found the most economical choice was just buying the pair sealed, so I wound up with a spare Doda.  Honestly, it was pretty well worth it, because Max is so very, very cool on his own, and the band is just that much cooler with him included.  This is a set I’m really happy to have finally gotten to complete.

#3936: Barquin D’an & Droopy McCool

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

BARQUIN D’AN & DROOPY McCOOL

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

In terms of on-screen musicians, the Star Wars Original Trilogy’s really just got the two main contenders: the cantina band from the first movie (officially named “Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes”) and the band from Jabba’s palace (the Max Rebo Band).  The Nodes are all members of the same species, the Bith, while the Rebo band was more eclectic, with each of its three members being from a separate species.  The special edition surmised that two great tastes might taste great together, so amongst the new members added to the Rebo band was a Bith by the name of Barquin D’an, who got figure treatment alongside original member Droopy McCool.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Barquin D’an and Droopy McCool are the second of three two-packs released as part of the “Max Rebo Band Pairs,” a Walmart-exclusive Star Wars: Power of the Force II offering from 1998.  It continued the theme of one old and one new that split across all of the sets.

BARQUIN D’AN

Though the race was totally absent from the vintage line, Power of the Force II did okay by the Bith, with the mail-away figure that could act as the Modal Nodes if you got enough, and also this guy.  In-universe, Barquin is Figrin’s brother, and may or may not also be present at the cantina, just not playing.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  The Nodes got elbow and wrist joints so that all of the instruments could be used, but Barquin is sculpted specifically for one instrument, so he’s a fair bit more restricted.  His sculpt’s not far removed from the mail-away figure, especially the head, but there’s some subtle differences.  The body’s more notable, with a more svelte build, and Barquin’s more unique attire.  It’s also a bit more accurate to the source, since the source was still very recent and easily accessible at the time.  His color work’s generally minor, but the accenting on the head in particular is very nice.  Barquin is packed with his kloo horn, which is molded in gold and gets a nice rustic sort of finish, which makes it feel very used.

DROOPY McCOOL

Okay, so before I get into the main thing here, I was looking at the Star Wars wiki for info, and in the very short two paragraph entry for Droopy, there’s a specific note that his body releases a “vanilla-like smell.”  That’s such an odd main point, but it’s right there.  I feel like if you’re gonna assign one Star Wars character a smell, you gotta do them all, right?  Well, the figure smells like plastic, so there’s that.  Droopy was included in the vintage line, with a figure based on generally the same look.  This one was…different?  Like, not really majorly so, but different.  The figure stands just under 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation.  His movement is greatly restricted by his sculpt.  Mostly, it’s just there for minor attunement so that he can stand and hold his instrument.  You aren’t getting much variety out of this one.  The pose is at least a good one, though, so it’s hard to complain too much.  The sculpt’s honestly pretty strong.  His vintage counterpart was very soft, but this one has a lot of texture and creasing, and looks very unique on the shelf with the others.  His color work makes a lot of the sculpt as well, with accenting to bring out the many folds and wrinkles in the skin.  It’s quite dynamic, and makes it much easier to see details that would have otherwise fallen to the wayside.  Droopy is packed with his chindinkalu flute, which fits very nicely in his hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like last week’s set, I was able to snag these two loose via a trade-in at All Time Toys a little over a year ago, after being on the lookout for the band for a decent while.  Of the new additions to the band, Barquin’s always been my favorite, largely because I just think the Bith are a cool design, hence my similar love of the Nodes.  He’s a basic, but still neat figure, and I like seeing the different approach to him, versus the Nodes.  I didn’t expect much of Droopy, but he’s very unique, and I think he’s got a fun presence on the shelf.  Of the three sets, I find this one to be the most balanced, and I do really like that.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3933: Sy Snootles & Joh Yowza

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

SY SNOOTLES & JOH YOWZA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

First appearing during the Jabba’s Palace sequence of Return of the Jedi, the band that would eventually be known as the Max Rebo Band was a three-piece band, and one that was never named on-screen.  The first names they got were courtesy of Kenner’s original toy releases, where they were collectively named as “Sy Snootles and the Rebo Band,” with the main name hailing from Sy Snootles, the band’s front and center singer from the movie.  The first Special Edition release added new members to the band, and Sy was ultimately given a bit of a downgrade, with Max taking the official front man spot for the group as a whole.  There were three band pairs released by Kenner in their Power of the Force run, and today, I’m looking at original front performer Sy Snootles and one of the new additions, Joh Yowza!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Sy Snootles and Joh Yowza are the first of the three “Max Rebo Band Pairs” released by Kenner in 1998 as part of their Star Wars: Power of the Force II line.  The pairs were all exclusive to Walmart at the time.  This set in particular has the notoriety of being the only totally CGI character-focused one, so there’s that.

SY SNOOTLES

As one of the original members, Sy was portrayed in the original film by use of a puppet.  For the Special Edition, she was re-designed to allow for more expressive and modern (at the time) effects-driven approach.  She’s ultimately a lot more cartoony, which is okay enough, and does at least make this a more drastically different figure from the original.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  Though she gets the basic movement, it’s generally pretty restricted.  A lot of that’s to do with the preposed nature of the figure’s sculpt, since she’s been given a rather sassy pose, which feels pretty in keeping with her characterization.  Despite not being very posable, the sculpt is nevertheless a pretty nice one.  It matches the design from the movie, and there’s also plenty of texture work, especially on the reptilian looking skin.  Sy’s color work also matches well with her film appearances.  It’s admittedly a bit of a departure from the usual Star Wars colors, especially the predominantly brown-based shades of Jabba’s palace.  The application’s pretty cleanly handled, and she even gets a little bit of accenting on her outfit.  Sy is without any accessories, though she was originally shown with a microphone and stand.  Since she doesn’t use them in the movie, though, they were dropped before release.

JOH YOWZA

Joh was added for the Special Edition, and is an entirely CGI creation.  He’s pretty much the epitome of the “annoying CGI creations that jump in front of the screen and make noise.”  So, you know, he’s not particularly well-liked.  It doesn’t help that he doesn’t much *look* like a Star Wars character, but hey, that’s just how it is.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation that are even more pointless than those on Sy.  He’s really pre-posed, and exactly what that pose is supposed to be is…unclear?  I don’t know.  The sculpt does a good job of capturing Joh’s design, whatever your opinion of said design might be.  It’s got some interesting texture work, and if nothing else, the face is certainly expressive.  Joh’s paint work was pretty involved, with a fair bit of accent work going on.  The fur work in particular works pretty well.  Like Sy, Joh is without any accessories.  There was a third-party instrument made available, for people that didn’t want empty hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My family didn’t really shop at Walmart in the ‘90s, and without access to the internet as it is, I didn’t really know about these sets until much later.  They’ve been on my want list for a good long while though.  I had the opportunity to grab most of the band members loose via a trade-in to All Time Toys about a year ago, which is how I got both of these.  Of the three sets, this one’s definitely the weakest.  Neither figure is really much in the way of playable, and Joh in particular just isn’t really impressive by any metric.  Still, they’re not terrible in the slightest.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0045: Jawas

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , ,

JAWAS

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Yesterday’s proper review looked at one of the droids of the Star Wars universe, and also discussed a bit of confusion regarding the Jawa Sandcrawler.  For today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, there’s no confusion, at least that I know of, but there sure are Jawas!

Kenner’s Power of the Force II was a very important to my toy collection. The line first hit in 1995, when I was 3 and just beginning to get into action figures. Needless to say, I ended up with quite the selection of figures from the line. One of my favorite subsets of creatures from the original Star Wars was always the Jawas. For some reason, I just love those little guys! So, today’s review covers POTF II’s release of those.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Jawas were released as part of the 1996 assortment of POFT II figures. They were released as a pair to make up for their smaller stature. The taller one stands about 3 ¼ inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. The shorter one is about 2 ¾ inches, and has 4 points of articulation. In both cases, I’m counting the neck as a point of articulation, but there isn’t very much motion that can be gotten out of either. The sculpts are both pretty good for the time. The taller one is a little bit more detailed, but that’s not too surprising given the difference in size. However, the smaller one still has some very nice detail work. The paint on the pair is fairly basic, but everything is cleanly applied, with no noticeable slop on either figure. Both figures also have a light-piping feature, which allows their eyes to light up. It’s a bit obvious where the clear plastic is on the heads, so I could see some people being annoyed by this. I’m not really bugged by it, but I chalk that up to nostalgia.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t remember exactly when or where I got this pair, but I know it wasn’t too long after I got Dagobah Luke. If I recall correctly, they were bought for me by my Mom, while we were out on an excursion together. I always really liked these figures, and I do seem to recall the taller one getting a spare lightsaber, and thereby being a Jedi-Jawa!

Incidentally, my brother Christian had a quick comment about these figures while I was reviewing them:

“This figure likes to go MARTINI too many damn times. I don’t see why they made this figure. It’s a piece of SHIET! Why do I need to feel bad about my life when I already have the war to care about?”

Yeah, he’s a bit on the strange side…

This was only my second Power of the Force review here on the site, run about a month after my first.  It’s honestly rather brief, but it does at least cover all the major points.  I did, however, do an acronym for Power of the Force within the body of the review, which I would very much not do these days.  Also, I got the letters in the acronym wrong.  Yikes.  Also included was a sort of “micro review” from my brother Christian, who was, I believe, 13 or 14 at the time?  I wrote this one while on a road trip, and he stole the laptop from me for a moment.  It’s….well, it’s something, isn’t it?  *Not* included was any mention of the accessories included with these two, largely because I honestly forgot they ever had any.  There were two blasters included, one a rifle and the other a pistol.  They’re basic, but not bad.  The rifle’s definitely the more Jawa-esque of the two, but I don’t mind having something for both of them.

#3929: Death Star Droid with Mouse Droid

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

DEATH STAR DROID with MOUSE DROID

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“A Death Star Droid approaches what appears to be a routine prisoner relocation. The two stormtroopers are actually Han Solo and Luke Skywalker conspiring to rescue the imprisoned Princess Leia.”

In the original Kenner Star Wars line, amongst the many droids offered was the Death Star Droid…or a figure labeled the Death Star Droid. In actuality, it was one of the droids seen in the Jawas’ sandcrawler, right down to the screen shot used on the box and everything.  In Kenner’s defense, both the droid from the sand crawler and the Death Star are RA-7 models (which is a translation for they used the same costume).  They would also fix their mix-up two decades later, under the late-run of Power of the Force II. 

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Death Star Droid was released in the Fan Club assortment of Star Wars: Power of the Force II in 1998.  He’s the last non-R2 and 3PO droid released in the line.  The figure stands just under 3 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He was an all-new sculpt, which wound up re-used a few times down the line for various other RA-4 figures.  It’s similar in its styling to the C-3PO molds from the line, which makes a fair bit of sense.  It’s a solid sculpt, with pretty clean line-work, and it’s pretty accurate to the design seen in the movie.  The coloring on this guy is notable, largely because it’s, you know, actually accurate to the movie.  It’s actually really fun, because the whole thing is vac-metalized, and it’s got multiple shades, so he looks especially eye-catching and slick.  The Death Star Droid is packed with another droid entirely, the Mouse Droid.  It’s a really simple, single piece thing just molded in simple black plastic.  It’s also way over scaled for the line.  But, it’s also really neat, and who doesn’t love a Mouse Droid?  Somebody probably, but I can’t trust their opinions; they don’t even like the Mouse Droid.  Also included is a Freeze Frame, showing the Death Star Droid as it wanders past a disguised Luke and Han.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I recall having the actual, vintage, incorrect Death Star Droid.  I did not, however, have this one, because the whole, you know, not released at retail bit.  Of the four Fan Club figures, he’s the one that was always the most intriguing to me, so I was pretty happy to find him sitting on a dealer’s table at Ocean City Comic-Con last year, and for a good price at that.  Of course, then I waited like 10 months to open him, because I don’t allow myself to enjoy nice things.  He’s good.  Really fun, really slick, and pretty unique.

#3925: Princess Leia Organa in Hoth Gear

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA in HOTH GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Imperial snowtroopers have been spotted inside Hoth’s Rebel base. Little time remains for Princess Leia and Han Solo to make it to the Millennium Falcon and escape with their lives.”

Kenner’s Power of the Force II hit its high-points for production in 1997 and 1998, as demand steadily rose through the line’s run.  However, as they started jumping deeper into the weird cuts of characters, and production was not scaled back, things started to become stagnant.  The line was subsequently reined in, and refocused, as they prepared for the incoming push for Episode I.  With a great many of the “Freeze Frame” era figures still lingering at retail, the final four figures for the sub-set were released not at main retail, but rather through a Fan Club-exclusive assortment in 1998.  Of the characters featured, by far the most noteworthy was Princess Leia in her Hoth attire.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia Organa in Hoth Gear was released as part of the aforementioned Fan Club assortment of Star Wars: Power of the Force II in 1998.  She in particular had an interesting journey to release, first intended for release in the “Complete Galaxy” sub-line, which was cancelled, then intended to go with a Hoth 3D display, which was also canceled, before being moved to single release for an assortment that was also almost cancelled.  At least she made it out.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  Her sculpt was unique, and not shared with the Cinema Scenes release of the same design, though admittedly, they’re pretty close in terms of styling.  This one gets a stiffer, more generic standing pose, instead of the more scene-specific one from the multi-pack.  Neither is really better than the other, they’re just different enough to be different.  Sculpting is pretty sharp, and the detailing on the outfit is particularly impressive.  Her color work is also a bit different than the other version, but not better or worse.  The hair’s a little darker, and the face is a little sharper.  The weathering on the outfit is also a cooler shade, and more focussed on her legs.  It still seems a little heavy handed, but it’s not awful.  Leia is packed with a blaster, which is a re-use of the Han-style one that they loved so much.  It’s fine.  It’s not remotely accurate, but it’s fine.  She also gets a freeze frame showing a scene from the Hoth evacuation.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had none of the Fan Club figures as a kid because I honestly didn’t know that was a thing the Fan Club did.  Kinda wish I could have gotten in on such a thing.  Seems right up my alley.  Instead, I’ve been slowly tracking them down.  They’re not expensive, mind you, just a lot less likely to show up than the others in the line.  Leia here was found mixed in with a batch of otherwise not noteworthy figures from the earlier run.  She’s perfectly fine.  It’s crazy how many steps there were to getting her release, but she’s a decent figure of one of the character’s main looks.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0043: Princess Leia Organa

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , , ,

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Yesterday’s proper review revisited an old Leia design for Power of the Force, but to keep things neat and tidy, today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum jumps back to an old review of an old figure of an old design, because I think it’s earned it…or something to that effect.  Here’s Leia!

“After many unsuccessful attempts to bring change to the Empire as a senator, Princess Leia Organa became involved in the Rebel Alliance and immediately established herself as one of its most popular and influential leaders. Although it was extremely dangerous for someone of her prominence. Leia often participated in secret missions for the rebellion. It was during one such mission to recruit General Obi-Wan Kenobi that she obtained the technical readouts for the Empire’s new Death Star battle station. Moments before being captured by Darth Vader, Leia hid the plans in the droid R2-D2, who then escaped to the planet Tatooine to find Kenobi.”

Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve looked at both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in their Stormtrooper disguises, which they use to sneak into the Deathstar detention center. I haven’t yet looked at the subject of their rescue (who ends up doing a little bit of the rescuing herself), Princess Leia Organa. So, I’m going to amend that today, by looking at one of the worst Leia figures in existence. Yay?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia was released in the first series of Kenner’s Power of the Force II, where she wound up as the short-packed figure. She was the first of several Leia figures from the line, and is based on her introductory look, her main appearance from A New Hope. The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. Despite Carrie Fisher being a good deal shorter than most of her cast mates, Leia isn’t noticeably shorter than the other figures in the line. This was a trend that wouldn’t really be corrected until the line re-formated after The Phantom Menace. Leia’s sculpt was unique to her, which is a good thing, because that means Kenner realized the horrible mistake they’d made and never allowed it to occur again. I’m sorry, was that too harsh? Yeah, I’m not much of a fan of this sculpt. She’s preposed, she’s got really goofy proportions, her costume’s kind of strangely inaccurate, and, most importantly, her face looks not unlike a monkey. Seriously, look at that face and tell me that doesn’t look at all like Zira. None of the PotF2 figures had particularly great likenesses, but every other Leia in the line was way better than this. I’m trying to find something positive to say about this sculpt…the hair’s not terrible, I guess? Her paint’s pretty simple, since she’s mostly just molded in white plastic, which a little bit of paint here and there. It’s not terrible. Leia included two different styles of blaster pistol (both of which are missing from my figure), as well as a removable cape and skirt. The cape is a bit baffling, as it just sort of continues the trend of Kenner clearly having no idea what Leia was actually wearing in the film. I suppose this was a bit closer than the vintage release?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ah, this one. This one’s an important one. Why? Because this is the figure that introduced me to my arch-nemesis: The Scalper! Yes, in my quest for this figure, I had an unfortunate run-in with a horrid man-creature, which I detailed a few years ago in the ever so eloquently titled “GAHHHHHHHHH!” Suffice it to say, I did eventually get the figure through non-scalped means, thanks to some dutiful work on my parents’ part. This was my first Leia, and I have aa whole story that goes with her, which gives her all this great emotional value. It’s a shame the actual figure kind of sucks. I mean, I’m glad I have her, but there’s no denying that she’s just a bad figure. 

Just right out of the gate declaring it one of the worst Leia figures ever.  You know, sometimes I find past me to be a little harsh to older figures, but I can’t really deviate too much on this one.  The original Power of the Force Leia is just simply not a good figure, and no amount of time or distance or nostalgia can really change that.  I think the best I can give her is that she sort of fits in well with the others from the early run? It’s not ideal.  When I first reviewed her, I was dealing with my original, which lacked either blaster, as well as the cape.  She’s still my original, but a good chunk of time dealing with loose Star Wars parts lots let me fish out all of her missing parts over the years, so eight years later, she’s actually complete.  At least she’s got that going for her, right?