Tag Archives: Power of the Force II

#3853: Boba Fett – Deluxe

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

BOBA FETT with WING-BLAST ROCKET PACK and OVERHEAD CANNON

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“As a result of Luke Skywalker’s daring rescue of Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett was thrust into the Great Pit of Carkoon and presumed to be a victim of the dreaded Sarlacc. Sometimes later, the notorious bounty hunter was spotted on Nar Shaddaa with a menacing-looking weapons pack. Several rumors have been spread concerning his recent escape and present situation, the most prevalent one being that the Hutts have contracted him to capture Han Solo and Princess Leia alive for the death of Jabba.

A weapons master, Boba Fett has a veritable arsenal hidden throughout his Mandalorian armor. His new pack is reported to possess powerful turbo thrusters that provide prolonged atmospheric flight up to 500km per hour. Shielded battlewings open to reveal missile racks loaded with concussion rockets, while heavy-rotating blasters, similar to those mounted on Jabba’s sail barge, respond to optically-activated signals in the helmet. Certainly the deadliest feature of this device/vehicle is the bolstered proton torpedo launcher. It is estimated that this pack was designed and built by Boba Fett himself: besides that fact that not one of its kind has ever been seen before, the type and variety of its weaponry – few other than Fett would dare carry a proton torpedo on his back – suggest that this battle machine be a signature model of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunter.”

You know, I gotta say, I do love it when Kenner would get real wordy with the bios on the back of their figures.  These days, Star Wars figures are lucky to get maybe two sentences to themselves, but here’s this wacky variant Boba Fett that’s out here getting an entire post-RotJ storyline.  There’s two whole paragraphs!  That’s dope!  Also, it makes my intro easier, because look how many *words* there are.  Anyway, a while back, I looked at three of the four debut “Deluxe” figures from Power of the Force, which marked a rare instance of Kenner pushing their usual “toyetic” approach on Star Wars, but I never rounded out the set.  So, let’s do that now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boba Fett with Wing-Blast Rocketpack and Overhead Cannon (which, yes, is his official name) was part of the first year of Deluxe figures from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line in 1996.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Like the other three figures from the first year, Boba is effectively a tweaked version of the Series 1 Boba, but now with a big accessory you can strap onto him.  The core figure is sort of a merging of the standard and Shadows Boba molds, but also with a more neutral stance, which also makes him just the slightest bit taller.  Beyond that, it’s more or less the same figure, with more or less the same design elements.  It’s not terrible, but it’s also a little removed from accurate.  His color work follows the Series 1 set-up, putting him in specifically his Return of the Jedi colors, which, given the way the bio goes, makes a degree of sense.  It was also the look being most pushed by the multi-media side at the time, so that also makes him the most evergreen look, I suppose.  His main change-up is the inclusion of the “Wing-Blast Rocketpack and Overhead Cannon,” which replaces his usual, more modest jet-pack.  It’s really big, and it makes him rather unstable, but I guess it’s…like, fun?  Is that allowed?  Are Star Wars figures allowed to be fun?  Eh, I’ll allow it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was a kid, I wasn’t much of a Fett guy myself, but my cousin Rusty was.  With that in mind, I bought him one of these for his birthday the year they came out, but, unfortunately, someone else had done the same.  He told me I should open it, and it was his birthday, so I did.  And since I’d opened it and it couldn’t be returned for another gift, I ended up keeping it.  Well, just the core figure.  I never had the backpack.  And, honestly, I didn’t have the core figure for long either, as I lost him somewhere along the way.  The one here in the review is the result of quite a hunt.  See, I found the figure and the backpack with ease, but the launcher and the missile seem to be the one thing that goes missing every time. At one point, I even got my hands on a sealed one, and that one was somehow missing the missile and launcher *in the package.*  As you can see, though, I did eventually find a complete one.  He’s goofy and silly, but he’s neat.

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.

#3849: Kabe & Muftak

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

KABE & MUFTAK

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (KENNER)

The ’90s run of Power of the Force has a pretty impressive depth to it, making it the first really notable example of getting a bunch of figures based on all the blin-and-you’ll-miss-them aliens that appear in the original trilogy.  Obviously, it was just sort of the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Hasbro would do as the line expanded, but there are still a number of characters who got their first figures under PotF and haven’t yet gotten a follow-up.  Today’s entry, which focuses on two patrons of the Mos Eisley cantina, is kind of in line with that.  So, let’s look at Kabe and Muftak.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Kabe and Muftak were an online-exclusive Star Wars: Power of the Force release, made available on Hasbro’s direct shop in 1998.

Kabe here is the smaller of the two included figures, putting her somewhere in the area of Jawa sizing in terms of scale. She’s technically the more fortunate of the two figures, having gotten a second figure after this one (though that one was really just a minor repaint of this one).  The figure stands 2 1/2 inches tall and she has 4 points of articulation.  Since she’s got that long robe over the legs, she get no movement there, with movement ending at the waist.  It does at least make her a rather stable figure.  Her sculpt is fine.  It’s a little rough, for sure.  A lot of the Power of the Force figures are somewhat dated looking, but still look finalized, but Kabe is…well, she feels a little bit unfinished.  I think it may be partly to do with the available reference material, or rather the lack of it, since she’s not exactly a highly visible character.  But, it’s at leas rather unique, so I guess there’s that.  The vest is a separate piece, so you can remove it for a bit more customizability, and perhaps give it to another smaller creature?  I do rather like her paint work, which adds quite a bit of accenting, and really helps to offset the more unfinished nature of the sculpt.  Kabe is packed with a sci-fi knife thingy.

Muftak is the one-and-done of the set (though the sculpt was re-used in the Saga Collection line for Foul Moudama, from Clone Wars), so there’s more riding on this one?  Also he’s a lot larger.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation.  He’s very tall, but not very posable.  But, he’s also a bit pre-posed.  So there’s that.  I do like that one elbow swivel he’s got.  He’s sporting an at the time unique sculpt.  It’s actually quite a nice sculpt.  The fur detailing is solid, showing a better flow than most of the Chewbaccas from the line, and his generally unique look is sold rather well.  He’s also just nice and solid-feeling, and stands really well on his own.  Just a lot of wins there.  The paint’s not bad.  There’s same accenting and shading on the fur, which is perhaps a touch heavy in some spots, but overall works quite well.  Muftak is packed with a larger blaster pistol, which he can rather awkwardly hold in his left hand, if you’re so inclined.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m firmly in the group of people that would probably have no clue these characters even existed were it not for the figures.  And, also the decision to go completist on this line.  The web exclusives can be a bit spotty on ease of access, mostly because so many people ignored them for so long.  They’re not expensive, but they’re rarer to show up.  I snagged these two, loose, from a sizable Star Wars collection traded into All Time a couple of years ago.  Kabe’s nothing much to write home about, but Muftak’s honestly pretty cool.

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0026: Princess Leia Organa as Boushh

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA as BOUSHH

STAR WARS: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE (KENNER)

For our second Flashback Friday Figure Addendum that’s actually back on a Friday, I’m following up on a thing from last week, and doing another Star Wars follow-up.  Heck, it’s even another Shadows of the Empire follow-up, because that’s how I roll…you know, right now specifically.  Anyway, let’s revisit Leia as Boushh!

“After Han Solo was captured by Boba Fett, several attempts were made on Luke Skywalker’s life which threatened the future of the Rebellion. Princess Leia Organa and Chewbacca sought to protect the young Jedi, and traveled to Coruscant to follow up leads surrounding these attempts. They hoped to draw from the extreme intelligence gathering network of the Black Sun, a criminal organization whose operations extended to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Because Coruscant is the homeworld of the Empire- a dangerous place for any member of the Rebel Alliance- Leia disguised herself as the renowned Ubesian bounty hunter Boushh. Boushh’s helmet concealed her entire face while a built-in voxscrambler altered her voice to resemble that of an Ubesian; a false I.D. and code taken from Black Sun completed her disguise and provided a safe level of anonymity. Little did she know that Prince Xizor, Underlord of Black Sun, was behind the murder attempts on Skywalker, and had his sights set on Leia as well.”

Long bio there.  How do you follow that, amirite?  Um, so, yeah, today’s another Star Wars review. Yaaaay.  This time around I’m taking a look at another Princess Leia figure, specifically the one from that time she pretended to be a bounty hunter.  Everybody loves bounty hunters!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Leia in Boushh disguise was released not as part of the main Power of the Force II line, but instead as part of the basic assortment of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (she would later see a re-release on a standard PotF2 green card, though).  She has the notoriety of being the only movie-based figure in the line-up.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation.  As with the PotF2 Slave Leia figure, this Leia is a bit on the tall side.  This was a recurring issue early into this line; at least they were consistent, right?  Leia sports a unique sculpt. It’s fairly decent for the time, being only slightly pre-posed and generally pretty decently proportioned.  It captures the look from the movie pretty well, and only makes minor stylistic adjustments.  The thermal detonator in her left hand is permanently attached, which removes a little bit of versatility from the figure, but given how integral that piece is to her intro in Jedi, I’m willing to give them a pass.  The head doesn’t exactly look like Carrie Fisher, but it also doesn’t look like a chimpanzee, which puts it ahead of most of the Leias of the time.  The paintwork on Leia is generally pretty solid.  The colors match well enough with what we see on-screen, and the application is all pretty clean.  Leia was packed with a removable helmet and half-cape to complete her Boushh look, as well as the usual staff, which according to the packaging is actually a blaster rifle.  Who knew?  I certainly didn’t.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This wasn’t my first Leia (that was the monkey-faced ANH version), but this figure has the distinction of being my go-to Leia for most of my childhood.  I actually don’t 100% recall where this figure came from.  She was probably a gift, likely for my birthday, but that’s really just me making an educated guess.  Nevertheless, this was my favorite Leia for a good long while, and is the strongest of the ’90s Leia figures.  This figure is pretty much single-handedly responsible for my love of Leia as Boushh.

This review was actually my very first Shadows figure, tempered a bit, I suppose, by the fact that she’s one of the two that pulled double duty between Shadows and the main line.  I don’t remember specifically where mine came from, but I do recall that purple card, so I know she was the Shadows release.  This review stuck to brevity, but not in a bad way.  I think I was honestly pretty on point here.  When I reviewed her, she was the antithesis of Luke, who had his weapon and half-cape, but no helmet, in that she had the helmet, but not the other things.  Thankfully, I was able to locate the missing parts in the mean time, so she’s all complete again.  The cape likes to pop out of place a lot, but she’s otherwise still a very nice figure, and remains my favorite Leia of this era.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0025: Luke Skywalker in Imperial Guard Disguise

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

LUKE SKYWALKER in IMPERIAL GUARD DISGUISE

STAR WARS: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE (KENNER)

What’s this?  The Flashback Figure Addendums are back on Fridays?  Yes, dear reader, they are.  I moved them to Mondays to tie-in with Marvel, but it was honestly bugging me, because then they’re not “Flashback Fridays” anymore, and it feels like it kind of misses the point.  Additionally, I’m feeling stretched just a bit too thin these days.  And, rather than take a whole hiatus, I’ve decided to give myself a slight breather on Fridays.  So, for the foreseeable future, you’ll be getting four new reviews a week from me, as well as one Flashback Friday Figure Addendum.  For our first Addendum back on a Friday, we’re tying in with yesterday’s Star Wars review, with Luke Skywalker in Imperial Guard Disguise!

“The Empire’s victory in the Battle of Hoth has brought hard times for the Rebel Alliance. Han Solo has been frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader, and two huge bounties have been placed on the head of Luke Skywalker. The Emperor wants him alive, but Prince Xizor , underlord of the most powerful criminal organization in the galaxy, wants him dead. Worse still is that the diabolical Xizor is holding Princess Leia Organa prisoner in his castle on the Imperial Center of Coruscant. this is a tactical maneuver, part of a larger master plan to lure Luke Skywalker into his castle where he can be easily eliminated — the key step in Xizor’s plan to replace Darth Vader at the Emperor’s side. unaware of this danger, the young Jedi and Lando Calrissian sneak into Imperial City hoping to rescue Leia. Simplylaying foot on Coruscant is a dangerous act for these two: high on the Empire’s list of most-wanted outlaws, they could easily be recognized and captured — or assassinated. Disguising themselves as beggars, they “borrow” the armored uniforms from a pair of elite Coruscant stormtroopers. These troopers are some of the Empire’s finest, selected as home guards for the wealthiest and most cultured city in the galaxy. Joining forces with Chewbacca and Dash Rendar, Skywalker and Calrissian attempt to infiltrate Xizor’s nearly impenetrable stronghold and rescue the princess.”

1996’s Shadows of the Empire was important, in that it was the first time the public at large had been introduced to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It’s also an interesting experiment in marketing, essentially being a movie merchandising campaign that lacked a movie. There were a handful of figures, mixed in with Kenner’s then running Power of the Force II. Newcomers Dash Rendar and Prince Xizor got figures, of course, but there were also new variants of out heroes Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca, all of whom had to take on disguises during this new story. I’ve looked at both Leia and Chewbacca, which just leaves Luke, who I’ll be reviewing today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker in Imperial Guard Disguise was released in the basic figure assortment of Kenner’s Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire line. The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. This Luke uses the same head as all of the other early PotF2 Lukes. It’s not the best likeness, but hey, here’s to consistency, right? The rest of the figure is brand new. The packaging dubs his look as “Imperial Guard Disguise,” a name that tends to conjure up the red guards from Return of the Jedi, who look quite a bit different than the look Luke is sporting here. However, the bio fills us in that this armor is actually from one of the elite Stormtroopers on Coruscant, making it a separate look entirely. As with so much of the design work seen in Shadows, the armor is undeniably a product of mid-90s comic book design, meaning it’s a little divorced from the original trilogy designs. His armor’s bulky and ultra padded, and seems to lack that used look we’re so accustomed to. It’s a little hard to reconcile this as a design that would appear in between Empire and Jedi. That being said, it’s hardly a terrible look. In fact, it manages to be rather unique and helps this Luke to stand out a bit from the crowd of other Lukes from over the years. The paint work on this figure is fairly decent, and, like the rest of his design, fairly unique. The red’s a nice shade, and all of the application is pretty clean. He’s packed with a removable helmet and half-cape to help complete his full disguise. Since Luke lost his father’s lightsaber in Empire and didn’t build a new one until the beginning of Jedi, he of course needed a new weapon, so this figure included a taser staff weapon.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was, I believe, my first Shadows of the Empire figure. My cousin Noah had saved up to buy the PotF2 Millennium Falcon, and was along for the trip to go buy it. Noah’s mother, who took us on the trip, agreed to get me one figure. Luke was my favorite character, and this figure appealed to my 5-year-old self, so he was the one I picked. I’d say having this guy in my collection already was probably what pushed me to pick up the Bounty Hunter Chewbacca instead of the normal one, and owning these two is certainly not a decision I regret in the slightest.

This is from 2018, when I was pretty deep into my Power of the Force revisit that was brought on by a bunch of figures purchased the year prior.  Luke was, of course, from my original run, so he snuck in there closer to the end.  I was still operating off of the bulk photos I’d shot some time back in early 2016, so he didn’t get updated to get turnarounds.  And, while I had managed to locate both his cape and weapon for the purposes of that review, I had not yet found his helmet, which I found sometime in the last few years and set to the side and promptly forgot about.  But, here it is now!  Beyond those two things, I stand by my review, and I still do love this figure quite a bit.

#3837: Hoth Chewbacca

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

HOTH CHEWBACCA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (HASBRO)

“Chewbacca, like all members of the Wookiee species, was indigenous to the jungle planet of Kashyyyk. Honorable, intelligent, and friendly, though fierce and dangerous when angered, Wookiees were a proud species who once made contributions to the Galactic Republic. Wookiee senators represented Kashyyyk in the Galactic Senate. Their respectable position changed, however, when the Imperials seized power and began enslaving the extraordinarily strong Wookiees as laborers. In Chewbacca’s case, he escaped slavery and death with the help of a young officer by the name of Han Solo, who destroyed his military career to save the innocent Wookiee. A life debt was established, and Chewbacca joined Han in his adventures through the galaxy. Later on, the duo played significant roles in the Rebel victory over the Empire, and the Wookiee species was restored to its position of honor in the galaxy.”

One of the sets of Power of the Force figures I’m slowly working my way through is the Flashback figures, the sort of odd promotional set for the pending Episode I figures that were yet to be.  They did, if nothing else, give a decent opportunity to re-release some heavy hitters, though some of the flashback connections were…a bit of a stretch.  Obviously, not everyone had a direct equivalent in Episode I, but for Chewbacca here, the equivalent was…a Wookie Senator? Do you guys remember the Wookie Senator?  Because I don’t.  He didn’t even get his *own* figure.  Well, here’s Chewy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hoth Chewbacca was released in the 1998 assortment of “Flashback Photo” Power of the Force figures.  He was the third version of Chewy in the main line, and completed the set-up of one per movie, being specifically based on Empire, the only one not covered up to that point.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation…sort of.  As with all the Chewbaccas in the line, he’s got a neck joint, but it doesn’t really do much.  Otherwise, it’s pretty normal stuff for the line.  His sculpt is similar to the other two Chewbaccas from the same year, which was notably a departure from the earlier, far more buff version of the character.  It’s not spot-on, but it’s a more accurate build at least.  His paint work is what makes him officially a “Hoth” figure; he’s got a bunch of white detailing painted over top of everything else, so he looks like he’s been out in the snow.  It works okay.  It’s at least different, right?  Sure, let’s go with that.  Chewy is packed with his bowcaster, which is the same piece used with the others in the line.  He also gets the flashback photo, which shows the earlier mentioned Wookie Senator.  Wooooo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hoth Chewbacca has the distinction of being the last Flashback Photo figure I needed for my collection (though he’s not the last one I need to review; I’ll get on that, I swear!), which is honestly kind of silly, because he’s hardly a rare figure.  I just happened to not get him for a while, and then when I had all the others, he wasn’t immediately in front of me.  But, then he was, so I guess that was nice.  He’s okay.  Very specific, but honestly, that’s not such a bad thing.

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.

#3832: Bantha & Tusken Raider

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

BANTHA & TUSKEN RAIDER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

I’ve had a surprisingly low count of Tusken Raider-related reviews here.  Just the two of them, it looks like.  Huh.  Well, I guess I never had a crazy attachment to them before they’re much more positive focus in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett, which actually gave them a culture beyond “crazy nomad beast men only there to antagonize the good guys.”  The Tusken Raiders were honestly kind of sparse early on in the toy coverage.  There was one during the vintage run, and then a single release during Power of the Force, which was finally joined by a second, deluxe release with a creature.  So, let’s look at that second one today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Bantha and the Tusken Raider were released in 1998 as part of the larger “creature” sub-set of Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force.  ’98 broke the mold a bit and did slightly larger creatures at a higher price-point, giving us both the Bantha and the previously reviewed Rancor.  This one’s not *quite* as large as the Rancor, but he does some other things to justify the higher price.

This was, I believe, the first Bantha figure, which is pretty nifty.  It’s quite sizable (and generally seems to be pretty well scaled to the line), but notably not crazy poseable.  You can move the neck, but that’s about it.  Otherwise, he’s just a big, solid chonk.  Not a big solid chonk of plastic, mind you, because they went the extra mile and give this guy an actual fur main.  It’s…well, there’s certainly a lot of it.  And it’s just begging to get all gross.  Which, I suppose, would probably be accurate to the real thing, I guess.  It’s certainly a unique look for the piece, and undoubtedly sells the Bantha look.  Under all the hair, there’s a largely rudimentary sculpt, but there are also enough visible details to keep him fairly interesting to look at.  He includes a plastic harness piece, which clips over top of it all, and sort of holds the hair in place a bit, as well as giving the included Tusken Raider figure a place to sit.

Said included Tusken Raider was the second for the line.  He’s pretty different from the single release.  Obviously, based on the same general look, but the approach has changed.  The figure’s still about 3 3/4 inches tall, but now there are 10 points of articulation.  This one adds both knee joints and thigh swivels, so as to aid in more properly sitting on the bantha.  Likewise, the lower portion of the robes are now cloth, so that sitting is actually possible.  The sculpt is also just a bit sharper, and better defined than the original, generally making for a better overall figure.  He includes the usual Gadaffi Stick, which he holds pretty nicely in his left hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The creature sets largely passed me by as a kid.  This one’s been on my list for a bit, but the later run creatures aren’t as plentiful.  Thankfully, I was patient, and one landed in front of me at work.  It was boxed, but not sealed, so pricing was in my favor, and also it wasn’t gross, so that was in my favor too.  The Bantha certainly makes an impression on the shelf, and the included Raider is pretty solid too, so it’s kind of an all around win.

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.

#3827: Wicket & Logray

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

WICKET & LOGRAY

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (KENNER)

Here we are, back at the Star Wars!  I’m doing this thing where I jump back and forth between Power of the Force and not-Power of the Force, and last month was a not-Power of the Force month, so we’re back on the Power of the Force!  I sure did say “Power of the Force” a lot there, didn’t I?  One of the neat things about Power of the Force was its aim at a sense of value.  The vintage line would sell you everyone at the same price point, regardless of relative sizing, but for the follow-up, Kenner was a bit more experimental.  For notably small guys, like the Jawas, the Ugnaughts, or, in fact today’s focus, the Ewoks, they were nice enough to give you two figures for the price of one!  How kind!  Let’s look at Wicket and Logray!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wicket and Logray were added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line in 1998, in the midst of the Freeze Frame era.  Wicket was actually technically a re-release, having appeared in the Princess Leia Collection the prior year, but Logray was totally new.  Wicket stands about 2 1/2 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Logray stands almost 1/2 an inch taller, but keeps the same movement.  Both figures are far from super posable.  The necks are quite restricted, especially on Wicket, with his hood and all, while the hip joints are ultimately not super useful for much more than some fine tuning to keep them standing.  They are at least pretty stable on their feet, so there’s at least that.  The sculpts are also pretty nice overall.  I like the head gear being actually separate parts, and the fur detailing is solid for the era and style.  Of the two, I think Wicket’s the slightly stronger sculpt, but they’re both decent renditions of the look from the movie.  Paint work’s not too bad on either figure.  They both get a bit of variation on the fur.  It again works a bit better on Wicket; Logray looks a bit like he’s wearing striped pajamas.  Hey, at least it’s unique.  Both figures get their own accessory, Wicket getting his spear, and Logray his staff.  There’s also the Freeze Frame slide, for those that are interested in such things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Would you believe me if I said I don’t actually recall getting these?  I know I got them from All Time, some time after I well and truly committed to this whole buying the entire run thing, but I think I may have gotten them in a batch with some other figures?  I’m pretty sure I got them sealed and then opened them during one of my bouts of needing to open things to feel better.  They’re not bad.  Honestly, it’s hard to mess up an Ewok, so good on them for not doing that?

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.

#3803: Dewback & Sandtrooper

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

DEWBACK & SANDTROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Okay, I had a bit of an impromptu break yesterday, because my head just wasn’t in the game and I didn’t have an easy to grab and review item on hand, but have no fear, I’m back at it today, and I’m going back to one of my old faithfuls: Power of the Force!  The line had all manner of price-points and such set-up to cover different things, and one of them was the “Creature” sets, which each paired a standard figure with a larger creature of some sort.  I’ve looked at three of the eight, and today I’m capping things off by arriving thoroughly at the middle, the the Dewback and the Sandtrooper!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Dewback and Sandtrooper were part of the initial round of “Creature” Sets for Power of the Force, hitting retail in 1997.  It was one of the three A New Hope-based Creature sets in the first batch, and one of four overall in this particular sub-line.

The Dewbacks are seen fairly early on in the franchise, and then really not again until The Mandalorian finally brought them back for an episode.  They were the source of a little extra focus from the Special Edition re-release of A New Hope, though, which was a large piece of the push on these initial creature sets.  The figure is about 8 inches long, and has 4 points of articulation, as well as a feature that opens and closes the figure’s mouth.  The sculpt here is entirely new, not re-used from the vintage version.  While the vehicles got re-used, the creatures were not the same situation.  This one is more patterned on the CGI-recreation from the updates, as was the case with Jabba.  That said, I think the Dewback works out a little bit better.  It’s not a bad sculpt; there’s certainly a flair to it, carrying on the general style of the earlier PotF figures.  The proportions are definitely a little over-hyped, but I do rather like the texture work.  The color work is pretty solid; the eyes are quite realistic, and the accenting of the brown on the top is pretty decent.  The Dewback has a lede that fits in its mouth and can be held (albeit somewhat awkwardly) by the included Sandtrooper.

There were three Sandtroopers available in Power of the Force.  This is the third one, at least as far as my reviews go.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He swaps out the waist articulation of the other two for a pair of hinged knees, granting him an easier time sitting on the Dewback.  Beyond that, he feels very much like the other two, right down to the off-model helmet and the slightly odd proportions.  At least he’s consistent.  The paint work saw two variations.  This figure is the first of the two, which has much heavier dirt accenting, making him look rather orange.  It definitely goes overboard (especially since this guy’s part of the mounted division, and wouldn’t actually be walking around on the sand), but at least they tried something different.  He’s packed with his backpack and longrifle (which can be stowed on the backpack), as well as a prod, which is, like, three times as long as him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have any of the creature sets as a kid, but I did have *just* the Sandtrooper from this set, because I got handed one by a dealer while walking through a comic show when I was a kid.  Don’t know quite what happened to that one, if I’m honest.  I ended up getting this one a few years back, when I was able to get a sealed copy for pretty cheap via a trade-in at All Time.  It’s an okay set.  The Dewback is obviously the star here, and the work really shows.  The trooper is pretty run of the mill, but he can at least bend his knees, so he’s got that going for him.

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.

#3799: Tatooine Skiff (with Luke Skywalker)

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

TATOOINE SKIFF (with LUKE SKYWALKER)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“Over the arid Western Dune Sea on Tatooine, Jabba the Hutt sentences his victims to be cast into the maw of the mighty Sarlacc, much to the raucous amusement of his palace minions. In the final attempt to escape from the clutches of the vile crime lord, the Rebel heroes launch a surprise attack. And so…the daring confrontation aboard the Tatooine skiff ignites!”

While I’m very much all-in on the figures for Power of the Force II, I don’t much review the vehicles.  This is partially because I don’t go out of my way to buy the vehicles (they take up a *lot* more space than the figures), and partially because I don’t usually enjoy reviewing the vehicles.  But, I do occasionally jump in with a vehicle, especially the ones on the smaller side, and especially if they had a unique figure.  So, here’s a vehicle that’s on the smaller side that had a unique figure!

THE ITEM ITSELF

The Tatooine Skiff was added to the Star War: Power of the Force line in 1999, at that point officially under the Hasbro brand, following Kenner officially being dissolved.  The set was released exclusively at Target, and paired off the skiff seen in the Sarlacc sequence of Return of the Jedi with a Luke Skywalker variant not available elsewhere.  The Skiff measures about 12 inches long.  It doesn’t really have “articulation,” but it has a number of moving parts and features.  There’s landing gear, which is useful for keeping it not falling over, which you can release using the lever at the top.  The rails on the sides breakaway to simulate damage, and there’s also a button to launch one of the floor panels upward, sending a figure flying.  And that’s all without getting into the plank that Luke is made to walk, which has it’s own flip-down feature, should you choose to murder your Luke Skywalker in such a way.  It’s a lot of features, honestly, and a reminder that this mold wasn’t actually developed by Hasbro (whose vehicles tended to be a bit more collector oriented as we went along), but was in fact a re-use of the vintage Kenner molds, like a lot of this line’s vehicles.  It’s not a bad sculpt at all.  It’s a good match for what we see on the screen, it’s well scaled to the figures, and the gimmicks and features don’t mess with the appearance too much.  There are certainly some parts that are a little flimsier, but it’s generally solid.  There were two colors available; green and tan.  Mine’s the tan one, but the differences were ultimately minor.  The paint work’s not bad; there’s plenty of simulated wear and dirt, which feel right for a thing that’s been out in the desert.

The included Luke is another take on Jedi Luke, which is unsurprising.  He was about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  It’s actually not a bad set-up for movement, since he gets proper knees, and a swivel at the waist and on the right wrist.  His parts consisted of a mix of old and new, with the head shared with all of the later-run Jedi Lukes, and the arms shared with the Complete Galaxy Luke.  The torso, pelvis, and legs were new, and the right had was tweaked to feature the damage to the back of it, which Luke gets during the skiff braw.  Not while he’s on *this* skiff, but still.  It’s a very scene specific Luke, but ultimately a pretty serviceable one.  His paint’s minor, but not bad.  Application’s mostly pretty clean, with only some minor slop on the change-over from his left hand to his sleeve.  He’s packed with his lightsaber, which seems like a solid choice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Not being much of vehicles guy, I really only had the basics for this line as a kid.  That didn’t include this one.  I got this, I want to say, sometime in late 2018/early 2019?  It came into All Time, and I was just starting my real push to go completist on the line.  I’d already gotten the skiff guard cinema scene set, so I felt like having the actual skiff might not be the silliest thing.  And it’s not.  It’s fun little piece, though it’s really more display than toy.  And, there’s a neat Luke Skywalker variant too!

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.

#3794: Weequay Skiff Guard

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

WEEQUAY SKIFF GUARD

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Oooooooooh, every party has a pooper, that’s why we invited Wequay!  …sorry, do we not all just spontaneously break into quotes from Robot Chicken?  Is it just me?  Yeah, actually, that tracks.  Well, in my effort to get through more of the many, many unreviewed Star Wars figures in my collection, we’re jumping into another one, specifically of the Power of the Force variety.  So, here’s the aforementioned party pooper, Weequay (Skiff Guard)!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Weequay Skiff Guard was added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line-up in 1997.  He initially predated the Freeze Frames, but was one of the figures to be rereleased with one later.  However, Weequay is by far the rarest of the Freeze Frame releases, so it doesn’t really turn up much.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Weequay got an all-new sculpt, which is honestly a pretty good one.  He’s got a fair a bit of pre-posing going on, largely to aid in holding his force pike.  It’s actually pretty dynamic, but doesn’t make him any trickier to stand or anything.  The detailing’s pretty solid; the costume elements are pretty sharp, and the face manages to get that “idealized” version of the mask from the movie, so it’s accurate, but also a little less goofy.  Weequay’s color work is sort of subtle, in that it’s got a bit more going on than you might expect.  It’s a lot of brown, but there’s also some slight blue, and a fair bit of accent work.  The paint work’s all fairly clean, and the sculpted details stand out nicely.  Weequay is packed with his force pike, as well as a brown blaster, for, like, options, I guess?  He can’t actually really hold the blaster, what with the pre-posing for the pike, but you know, I guess there’s the extra?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My most notable exposure to Weequay is in the Robot Chicken Star Wars Specials, where he serves as Boba Fett’s sidekick for a set of running skits (and where the sing-song-y bit from the intro originated).  Beyond that, I don’t know a ton about him, because, well, what’s to know?  I got this guy back in 2018, I think?  I used some Christmas money from my Grandmother to buy a bunch of PotF figures, because I was feeling a touch nostalgic.  He’s actually quite a nice figure, and my favorite of the whole skiff sub-set.

Thanks to my sponsors over at 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.