Tag Archives: Power of the Force II

#3921: Princess Leia Organa

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Held captive in the Death Star, the princess is interrogated by Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin. Leia was ordered to reveal the location of the secret Rebel base or see her home planet of Alderaan destroyed.”

The Power of the Force line with major looks for almost all of the major players in the Original Trilogy.  The main trio, in particular, were all presented in their main looks from A New Hope, with figures that were…let’s be diplomatic here and say “very stylized.”  All of those looks would be revisited later in the line, as it evolved, including Princess Leia’s hair-bun-sporting debut look, which I’m taking another look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia Organa was released as part of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line in 1998.  With four separate single figures released that year, Leia was the most prominent of the main players.  Like the “Princess Leia Collection” release before it, this one returns to her main look from A New Hope, now bearing an “All New Likeness!” as advertised by a sticker on the front of the box.  The figure stands just under 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation…in technicality.  The legs are, of course, not much use under the rubber dress piece, so they mostly just offer the ability to do some slight tweaking for keeping her standing.  Her sculpt was all-new, and as far as I know, it remained that way.  It’s not bad.  Certainly an improvement over the original release, especially when it comes to the head sculpt.  The body has a lot of pre-posing to it, as she’s sculpted to hold a blaster rifle.  It does alright, but she’s slightly hard to keep stable.  The details are a little sharper than the “Princess Leia Collection” figure, but I think it’s ultimately not *quite* as nice looking.  Still certainly not a bad sculpt.  The paint’s basic, and pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a figure from this line.  It does what it needs to, and it does it just fine.  She’s packed with a Stormtrooper blaster, her blaster pistol, and a Freeze Frame showing her during the destruction of Alderan.  It’s interesting, because she’s clearly supposed to be a Leia from her rescue, but then they gave her the Alderan destruction Frame.  The rifle is modified so that she can more easily hold it, and it was also designed with giving it to the otherwise unarmed mail-away Han Solo figure from Kellogg’s in mind, if you’re so inclined.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As has been something of a recurring theme with my more recent Power of the Force reviews, Leia is a figure that I bought a few years ago in a batch with a bunch of others from the line, who has been sitting unopened in my office for the entire time I’ve owned her, until about two days before I sat down to write this review.  She kind of gets lost in the sea of Leia figures, I suppose.  She’s not bad, but she doesn’t do a ton to stand out on her own, ultimately.  Still, she’s a marked improvement on the original, and a solid figure in her own right.

#3917: Princess Leia & Wicket

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

PRINCESS LEIA & WICKET

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Ewok named Wicket was the first of his clan to find Princess Leia after she crashed a speeder bike in the dense woods of Endor. Their friendship allied the Ewoks and Rebels so that together they could help defeat the evil Empire!”

Remember last week, when I revisited the “Princess Leia Collection” for the first time in almost an entire decade?  Great, well, that’ll serve as a good refresher for today’s entry, which is another one of those.  Look, sometimes I remember something, and I just can’t shake it until it’s wrapped up.  This is one of those times.  I jumped back in, and I feel an undying need to wrap this set up.  So, let’s jump into the only of the original trilogy I haven’t looked at from this particular sub-set, Return of the Jedi, with its Leia and Wicket-centered presence!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Princess Leia and Wicket are the fourth and final two-pack in Kenner’s “Princess Leia Collection” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II.  As touched on in the intro, they’re the only set based on Return of the Jedi.  Like last week’s Leia and R2, this set consists of a new Leia, packed with a re-pack of the standard Wicket from the main line.

Leia is once again the main selling point of the set, which makes sense, what with the collection being named after her and all.  She’s seen here in her Ewok dress from Jedi, which is interesting for two notes.  Firstly, the packaging shows an image of Leia in her Endor assault gear, from her first (and most prominent) scene with Wicket, rather than the dress.  Secondly, the dress got a standard line release shortly after this one, making it a bit of a crowded market for the look.  I think it might have been cool to do the Endor gear, since it would have been neat to get the cloth poncho, like the vintage line, and it might have been a more fun design.  But, I’m also just kind of partial to that look.  This one does fit the vibe of the line and its more girl-oriented angles a bit better.  The figure is about 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  She does the same mixed media approach as the other Leis from this line.  It works well enough.  The cloth used for the dress is heavy, and hangs well, and the actual braids in the hair are admittedly kind of neat.  Her coloring is a bit of a departure; rather than the brown shades of the actual dress in the movie, she’s got more of a pink hue, again seemingly to make her fit the general aesthetic they were going for a bit more.  It honestly works in her favor, because it’s s slightly more endearing color scheme.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been much for this particular design for Leia, and I wasn’t relishing having to get it *twice* for a Power of the Force collection, but I did it, because that’s what I do, I guess.  Ultimately, it was more that this set was very cheap and easy to snag, so that got me on board.  I like it more than I expected to.  This design especially lends itself more to this style of line, and that does it a lot of favors the standard line didn’t have.

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.

#3913: Princess Leia & R2-D2

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

PRINCESS LEIA & R2-D2

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Moments before being captured by the evil Darth Vader, Princess Leia inserts secret plans for a new Imperial battle station into her loyal astromech droid, R2-D2”

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 2016 (which was almost a decade ago, and also falls into my view of the site being in the full swing of things; that doesn’t make me feel old *at all*), I did a couple of reviews of “The Princess Leia Collection,” an off-shoot of Power of the Force from 1997.  I didn’t talk much about what it actually was, though, so I guess I’ll do that now.  In 1997, Kenner brought in the “girls division” for some fresh Star Wars products with a slightly different approach than what they’d been doing.  One of the two notable projects was the Princess Leia Collection, which was a series of two-packs, centering on Leia, and bringing some more doll-like sensibilities to figures that could otherwise interact with the main line.  Here’s Leia and R2 from that line.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Princess Leia & R2-D2 were one of the four two-packs that made up 1997’s “Princess Leia Collection” assortment of Star Wars: Power of the Force.  They were from A New Hope, which was granted two different sets, in contrast to the single set for each of the other movies.  While both the Luke and Han sets were made up of totally new figures, this set features a straight re-pack of the standard R2-D2, reviewed here.

Leia is the main selling point here, which is sensible.  This was one of four figures based on her standard A New Hope design.  It’s certainly better than the first one, but most things are.  The figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  All of the Leia figures in this line were heavy on their use of soft-goods, with minimal sculpting visible.  The head is a unique piece, and it’s much better than the prior one; it looks distinctly not monkey-ish in its depiction, so that’s a win.  She also gets a sculpted belt piece, which is good for keeping the general shaping of the design down.  The underlying body is basic and rudimentary, but it does what it needs to, and it’s not meant to be seen.  Covering it up is a cloth robe piece.  It’s nothing crazy, but it’s pretty decently implemented.  My biggest complaint is that the hood it tailored more like a cape, so she can’t actually put it up, which is a bummer.  But, she looks good when it’s all just left the way it is.  Leia’s paint is largely limited to the head.  Again, pretty good work.  Application is clean, and the sculpt is well-served by how the paint accents it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Luke and Han sets are the flashier pairings from this line, and also the most frequent to show up.  I had them back in 2015, but took my time finding the other half of the line.  This one wound up being the scarcest of the bunch, but all things said, that doesn’t make it especially rare or anything.  I ended up snagging a sealed one that got traded in through work a couple of years ago.  As with so many things Power of the Force related, I opened it just prior to writing this.  R2 is the same figure from before, which is fine, but not new.  Leia’s actually quite a nice figure, and probably the best standard Leia the line had to offer.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3909: Ponda Baba

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

PONDA BABA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

What better way to demonstrate the destructive power of a weapon you just introduced than by having it used by one of your heroes to maim some poor schmoe?  That’s how George Lucas does it!  Honestly, in light of the whole “Greedo shot first” thing, it’s shocking that Lucas didn’t, like, digitally insert another guy in the scene for Ponda Baba to slice the arm off of, just to show he really got what he deserved.  Missed opportunity if you ask me.  Anyway, here’s a figure of the not slicing-off-arms-first Ponda Baba! 

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ponda Baba was released as part of the 1997 line-up for Kenner’s Power of the Force II line.  He was Ponda’s second figure, after the original vintage one, and would be joined by a third that same year, thanks to the Cinema Scenes release.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He was sporting an all-new sculpt at the time, but the head and torso wound up shared with the three-pack version.  Of the two, this one goes for more basic and standing in its pose.  It does fine.  It’s certainly more accurate to the source than the prior “Walrus Man” figure, though he’s certainly got a bit of that early Power of the Force bulkiness.  The biggest downside of the figure remains the lack of ability to remove his arm as in the scene, but it is what it is.  His color work is more or less the same as the multi-pack version, which means it’s passable stuff.  Colors match what they’re supposed to, and he’s even got a bit of subtle accent work on the jumpsuit.  Ponda Baba is packed with two different blasters, one in pistol form, the other a rifle.  You’ve got some options, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sometimes, the decision to go completist on this line is awesome, because you get to see all the neat subtle differences between two similar versions of a character.  Sometimes, you end up buying a figure that’s different for the sake of different.  This one is the second thing.  I bought him to have him, and for no other reason.  I got several years ago, and he remained unopened, because I just didn’t have much draw.  I opened him purely for the purposes of this review.  He’s…fine.  You really don’t need him, but he’s fine.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0040: Luke Skywalker – Dagobah

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

LUKE SKYWALKER — DAGOBAH

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

We are officially taking the Flashback Friday Figure Addendums back to Star Wars!  Oh yeah!  Let’s jump back to some of the earliest Star Wars coverage here on the site, and indeed the very earliest Star Wars in my entire collection, with Dagobah Luke!

So, today’s review is actually pretty nifty. I’ve looked at the most recent round of Star Wars toys with The Black Series, and I’ve also taken a look at one of the vintage figures from the original line, but I’ve never really looked at any of the figures released in between.

Star Wars is looked at as one of the permanent fixtures of the action figure aisle nowadays, but that wasn’t always the case. Following Return of the Jedi, the line shifted to Power of the Force for a little while, but that line only ran until 1985, at which point Star Wars toys effectively ended. Ten years later, Kenner relaunched the line under the branding Power of the Force II. In 1995, I was 3 and just getting into action figures. So, POTF II came at just the perfect time and provided me with my very first Star Wars figure, which I’ll be looking at in this review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke was released as part of the 1996 assortment of Power of The Force II. He’s based on Luke’s look while he’s training on Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back. The figure stands about 3 ¾ inches tall, and features 6 points of articulation. That waist articulation was revolutionary, let me tell you. The sculpts for POTF II, in general, have not aged well. For some reason, everybody got really buff. Luke follows that trend, and looks more like Arnold Schwarzenegger than Mark Hamill. From a purely aesthetic stand point, it’s actually not a bad sculpt. There’s some nice texture on his clothing, and the proportions are about right, even if they don’t belong to Mark Hamill. One negative point: the feet are sculpted at a bit of an angle, which can make getting him to stand up a chore. The paint is actually very good for the time. There’s no bleed over or slop and the smaller details are all clean and sharp, and the shading on the shirt to show it’s wet and stained gives the figure a nice level of depth rarely seen on figures of this era. Luke was packed with a lightsaber and a blaster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The trip on which I acquired this figure is actually one of my earlier memories of going to the store and buying something. I don’t remember what store it was (for some reason my gut says Target, but that doesn’t seem right). What I very vividly remember was being walked over to the toy aisle by my parents, seeing the display of figures and running to them. I saw Luke hanging there and immediately grabbed him. In particular, I remember my mind being completely blown by the idea that he actually included a lightsaber. I guess I just assumed that would have to be a separate purchase. I had yet to pick up on how action figures worked, I guess. Regardless, I was thrilled to have this figure. As the years have gone by, the figure has started to show its age, but I still feel pretty damned nostalgic for him. All in all, he’s not a bad figure, and the sentimental value pushes him up to 11.

Well, I can generally stand by this review pretty well, I feel.  Nicely formed, and generally on point.  Covers all the bases.  Kind of funny.  Good hook at the end. Go me.  A few notes to follow up on, though.  I addressed the angle of the feet, which mean he has to stand at an intense angle to remain upright, which is actually to do with him being designed to work with the Yoda released at the same time.  It actually works well in that regard, but I didn’t own Yoda until *after* this review was written, so I didn’t really know.  When I reviewed him, he didn’t have his lightsaber and blaster, but I’ve found both of those, so now he’s all complete!  And lastly, my wife an I watched all of Righteous Gemstones a few months back, and after watching it, I can’t help but see this take on Luke as looking unmistakably like Keef.  So there’s that.

#3905: Saelt-Marea – Yak Face

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

SAELT-MAREA — YAK FACE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“One of Jabba the Hutt’s top agents, very little is known about the mysterious Saelt-Marae or his specific connection to the crime lord. He could often be found hanging out in Jabba’s desert palace.”

Saelt-Marea, known as “Yak Face” during the production of Return of the Jedi and keeping that name until he got a proper one in the ‘90s, has the distinction of being the only vintage Kenner Star Wars figure never released in the United States, which has given his debut figure quite a bit of notoriety over the years.  That notoriety has gotten him a handful of additional figures over the years, which isn’t bad for a guy who just stands around in the background of Jabba’s Sail Barge.  His second figure, which is ever so more easily acquired than the first, was released in the ‘90s revival of Power of the Force, which is really where my main jam is, so here I am!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Saelt-Marea — Yak Face was added to the Power of the Force II line-up in 1997, which was a Jabba-heavy year.  He represents the first time the character would get his proper name, something that was pretty common for this line and its approach to the background aliens.  The figure stands just under 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His neck joint is rather restricted, due to its implementation at an angle, as opposed to being flat.  His sculpt was all-new, and honestly not badly handled.  The original figure had made some guesses at his full design, so this one aimed to be a bit more accurate, most notably giving him his longer robe piece, which is a softer overlay piece on this figure.  The head seems to do an alright job of capturing the prop from the movie, and it looks the part pretty well.  There are definitely some elements here that are a little softer than other figures in the line, and he definitely comes across as a bit more basic compared to more modern takes on the character, but it certainly gets the job done.  Likewise, the figure’s color work is kind of in the same vein; it’s basic and kind of rudimentary compared to more recent stuff, but it does what it needs to and it works.  That said, it’s actually a little bit of a change-up from how things usually worked from vintage to PotF2, as Yak Face is actually a fair bit more colorful and eye-catching than his vintage counterpart, who was really rather drab.  Yak Face is packed with what the package dubs a “Battle Staff.”  Sure, I guess let’s go with that.  It’s a stick with some stuff on one end, and he holds it pretty well in his right hand, and not as well in his left.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

According to my database, I got this figure in September of 2019, intermingled with a batch of eight other Power of the Force figures.  He’s the eighth of them I’ve reviewed, though not because I dislike him or anything.  Mostly just luck of the draw.  Looking at the batch of figures he came home with, he was almost certainly part of a collection that got traded gnat All Time, which I plucked the figures I still needed from.  He’s nifty.  Nothing crazy, but a unique design, and a solid figure.

#3901: Malakili – Rancor Keeper

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

MALAKILI — RANCOR KEEPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Malakili was one of the keepers of the only known rancor specimen. Kept in a special pit below the crime lord’s court, the rancor was reserved as a method of getting rid of unwelcome guests or others who failed the crime lord.”

Oh boy, we’re getting into the best part of Star Wars; the weird one-off background guys!  Prepare yourself for only the weirdest, most outlandish concepts and designs as we look into the crazy denizens of Jabba’s palace!  …What’s that?  It’s a shirtless guy?  Just a shirtless guy?  With a weird hood?  Does he do something cool?  He cries.  Well, I guess that’s *something*.  And he got a name, because of course he did.  Well, here’s Malakili, crying shirtless guy.  Can relate, buddy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Malakili — Rancor Keeper was released as part of the 1997 line-up of Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force.  Malakili got his second figure here, following up on the original vintage version, and he was one seven Jabba-related figures in the line the year of his release.  Curiously, that didn’t include the actual Rancor, which hit the following year.  The figure stands a little under 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His articulation is all rather limited by his build and the layout of his costume, but he mostly just stands around anyway, so it’s not awful.  His sculpt was totally unique, and it’s not a bad approximation of what he looks like in the movie.  The head sculpt bears an uncanny resemblance to Denholm Elliot, which, you know, isn’t the guy that played Malakili, but I suppose Elliot and Paul Brookes, the guy that actually played Malakili, don’t look incredibly dissimilar, especially at this scale.  The rest of the sculpt is pretty good, though, and I do like the flow of the cloth parts and how they hang.  Malakili’s paint work isn’t too bad.  There’s actually some pretty solid work on his skin tone (which is classified by Wookieepedia as “swarthy”, so there’s that), that gives him some nice variation.  Malakili is packed with a long-handled Vibro-Blade, and, if you got a later release, a freeze frame with a picture of the Rancor.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I can’t say I have much attachment at all to Malakili, but he’s also the sort of character that is rather memorable.  He also doesn’t have a *ton* of action figures, so this one’s notable.  Ultimately, I bought him because he was readily available and I was looking to get a lot of Power of the Force figures at once.  I didn’t really expect much from him at the start, but honestly, he’s not so bad.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3897: Chewbacca as Boushh’s Bounty

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

CHEWBACCA as BOUSHH’S BOUNTY

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Chewbacca, acting as a prisoner, and Princess Leia, disguised as the bounty hunter Boussh, infiltrate Jabba’s Palace. There they hope to rescue the carbonite-encased Han Solo.”

Well, I’m out of “Flashback Photo” figures from the Power of the Force line, so I guess I’ll just have to go back to the *rest* of my un-reviewed PotF figures.  Back in April, when I last looked at a Chewbacca figure, it was the Flashback figure, which got around the whole “how do you differentiate Chewy figures” by going for a very scene specific look from Empire.  That same year, they did the same thing, but for Return of the Jedi.  So, here’s that figure.  It’s Chewbacca as Boushh’s Bounty!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chewbacca as Boushh’s Bounty was released in 1998 as part of Kenner’s Power of the Force line.  He’s the first of three Chewies released that year (though the last of them I’m reviewing here), and the second of the standard release Chewbacca figures for the line.  The figure is about 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  All three of the ’98 Chewbaccas use a variation of the same updated sculpt, removed a bit from the muscle-bound look of the ’95 figure.  In particular, this one is really similar to the Hoth figure, though he’s a little more stiff in his posture.  He’s also got the adjusted neck set-up to feature the collar he wears while posing as Boushh’s bounty.  It’s non-removable, so he’s dialed rather into the specific scene.  Overall, it’s an okay sculpt, if perhaps not much to write home about.  The paint work is more conventional than the Hoth variant.  There’s some good variation to the coloring on his fur, which is certainly cool.  Unfortunately, a recurring issue with this release is that his eyes are almost always crossed, which looks really silly.  Chewy is packed with his bowcaster, which he doesn’t use in the scene, but it’s at least something.  It’s just the same standard one used by all the others, which is fair enough.  He’s also got a Freeze Frame slide, showing the scene he’s based on.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Chewbacca on the earlier side of my dive back into the line, so late fall of 2018, I think?  I never had any “updated sculpt” Chewbacca figures, and this one was fairly easily available, so I picked him up in a larger batch of figures.  Like so many of the the time, I didn’t open him for a while, but I did open him a bit quicker compared to some, so as to populate my Jabba’s Palace playset when I got it.  He’s goofy, especially with those eyes, and a bit limited, but he’s a unique enough idea.

#3893: Anakin Skywalker

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

ANAKIN SKYWALKER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“As a youth, Anakin Skywalker was brought before the Jedi Council as a candidate for Jedi training. With some dissension, the Council voted to allow Anakin to become the apprentice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and over time Anakin became a powerful Jedi. The Council’s concerns, however, proved to be well founded. The dark side soon overwhelmed Anakin and changed him, creating Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. Darth Vader faithfully served at Emperor Palpatine’s side, leading the Imperial efforts to crush the Rebellion. He was even ready, if necessary, to take the life of his own son, Luke Skywalker. But in the final confrontation between father and son, Luke’s pleas finally awakened the good buried deep within Darth Vader.”

While there were plenty of Darth Vaders to be had, prior to 1999, there were very few Anakin Skywalker figures on the market.  The vintage line only had a single one, released at the *very* end.  Power of the Force did a little better, upping that quantity to a whole two.  The first was a “spirit” figure, packed alongside similar versions of Obi-Wan and Yoda in a Cinema Scene pack.  The second was, like the vintage line, at the very end of the run.  He’s also hella quirky.  Let’s talk about him now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Anakin Skywalker was part of the 1999 portion of the “Flashback Photos” Star Wars: Power of the Force figures, alongside C-3PO and Aunt Beru.  Despite us not seeing this look until he was good and dead, this figure gives us old-man Jedi as if he were real and in the flesh.  Why?  Don’t think about it too hard.  The figure stands just over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  That said, you can really only use the neck and shoulders, since the legs and waist are hidden beneath the robes.  Despite his structural similarities, the only part actually shared with the Spirit figure is the head.  Otherwise, he’s all-new, and remained pretty well unique.  The sculpt’s rather on the static side, but this version of the character really just did stand around, I suppose.  It’s not a bad sculpt at all, and l can certainly appreciate the more reserved approach to posing at this late stage in the game.  His color work just goes for solid colors, because we’re just leaning into that hypothetical living version of him, I guess.  The application’s all good and clean, and pretty much what you would expect from this line.  Anakin is packed with a lightsaber, which is notable for two reasons.  Firstly, that the ghosts don’t use lightsabers, so it’s sort of odd for him to have one.  Secondly, you’ll notice I said “a lightsaber” not “his lightsaber.” That’s because it’s actually Obi-Wan’s saber, not Anakin’s.  Not entirely sure why that is.  He’s also packed with a flashback photo, which shows Anakin in Jedi and in Phantom Menace.  This is the *third* flashback photo to have kid Anakin as the Phantom Menace picture, especially notable because no one else so much as doubled up on them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I recall this one was rather early in my push to start completing this line of figures.  I got him alongside the Flashback Photo versions of Luke and Leia, you know for a neat little family reunion type thing.  Honestly, it’s a figure that always rather intrigued me.  He’s not anything crazy amazing or anything, but he’s a fun, if perhaps slightly quirky figure and he’s certainly remained rather unique.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3889: C-3PO with Removable Arm

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

C-3PO with REMOVABLE ARM

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

I keep getting distracted from actually writing today’s review.  I mean, sure, I tend to get distracted from writing reviews a lot; such is my life and all that.  But, this one I kept trying to come up with an angle for an intro, and then I’d go to double check something, and suddenly it would be days later.  At one point, I got into a whole thing about which Star Wars character had the most reviews on the site (it’s Luke, by the way), which resulted in me also noting that C-3PO has had less reviews than any OT main character other than Yoda (who is himself beaten by Wedge of all people).  So, I guess maybe I should get those numbers up?  Well, at least one more, anyway.  On we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

C-3PO with Removable Arm was released as part of the “Flashback Photo” set of Power of the Force, with the second batch go figures that hit in 1999, just before the proper Episode I line launched.  3PO continued the set’s heavy focus on A New Hope, as he’s based on his appearance in the movie just after the Tusken Raider attack.  The figure stands just under 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His sculpt is unique, but admittedly rather similar to the other later run 3POs from the line.  This one, however, does have the odd quirk of his weirdly elongated head.  It seems strange that after getting it more or less right so many other times, that this one’s so…odd.  Otherwise, it’s a decent enough sculpt, with plenty of detailing going into it all.  The left arm is designed for removal, mimicking his loss of it in the scene he’s referencing, and the articulation’s a little bit different to accommodate this.  Per the usual treatment, 3PO is vac-metalized, but he goes a bit further on top of that, getting a fairly extensive amount of paint accenting for the dirt and sand he builds up while on Tatooine.  C-3PO is packed with only his flashback photo, showing 3PO from both the original film and Episode I.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

C-3PO sort of fell into the big batch of these guys I picked up in 2019.  I didn’t honestly think much of him at the time.  That said, in my first real push to get them opened and displayed, I decided he’d be the best fit for my Jabba’s Palace playset display, so that’s where he went.  Shortly after my son Matty moved in with me, his room was still housing my Power of the Force collection, and he wanted toys to play with, so I let him mess with them.  Since the left arm was removable on this guy, Matty assumed the right was too, and snapped that sucker clean off.  He and his mom were both absolutely mortified that he’d broken one of my figures, but I personally just laughed it off, and let them both know he was a relatively cheap figure.  I had picked up a replacement, but ultimately just fixed the one I had, because I still enjoy the story, and it gives the figure more weight than he might otherwise have.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.