Tag Archives: Return of the Jedi

#4031: Emperor Palpatine

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

EMPEROR PALPATINE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Bleh, it’s another Palpatine review.  I’m bad at intros for these because I just don’t know how to make him interesting.  “Somehow Palpatine returned” is exactly the level of care I personally have in Palpatine, so it landed right at home for me.  Anyway, here’s another Palpatine, from the period of Power of the Force where Kenner felt the need to make another Palpatine, seemingly for the purpose of having another Palpatine.  Palpatine.  Yep, here’s a Palpatine.  Also a coin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Emperor Palpatine was released in 1998 as one of the seven Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coin” figures from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II line.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 3 points of articulation.  Hey, check out all that crazy posability, right?  Like, he can slightly angle his head to either side.  Or slightly move his arms up and down.  The possibilities are endless!  While this line was a re-use heavy one, Palpatine was rather unique in that almost all of his tooling is new.  I mean, sure, he’s clearly modeled on the same basic sculpt that the electronic Palpatine was using, but this one is sans gimmick, and sans any trace of the gimmick, and also just a lot less boxy.  So, I guess that’s all pretty good?  Eh, I’ll consider it a win.  Otherwise, he’s really just a Palpatine figure that feels more or less like all the other Palpatine figures that the line offered up.  He’s an old guy in a black cloak.  Not a lot of room for fun there, really.  Even the paint looks essentially identical to the other Palpatines that preceded him.  The most notable thing here is that he gets a different finish on the clasp for his cloak, so it stands out a little more.  He gets a unique set of electricity effects, which are honestly pretty nice, as well as the stand and coin that all of these figures got.  The coin’s at least pretty nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I make it no secret that I’ve got very little love for Palpatine, and even less love for Palpatine figures.  But, I’m going for the complete run, and I’ve bought all the other ones, and this guy was in a big lot with everyone else, so I didn’t really have to think about it too much.  This one’s fine.  He’s better in terms of posing a detailing than anything other than the Flashback figure, and he’s also more stable on his feet (or lack thereof) than that one, so I think it’s generally the best Palpatine the line had.  And also, it’s the last one I have to review, which is quite nice.  Now I never have to talk about Palpatine again!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0069: Boba Fett

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

BOBA FETT

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Well, here we are at Friday.  We’ve made it.  I mean, I hope.  Gonna be real, I’m writing this on Monday, and I’m already exhausted, so we’re just gonna see how it goes.  I mean, I guess you guys already know.  So, there’s that.  But speaking of uncertain timelines and moving back and forth, it’s time for another Flashback Friday Figure Addendum.  Let’s take another look at Boba Fett!

“The most notorious and fearsome bounty hunter in the galaxy is also the most mysterious. Many legends and stories have arisen over the years, but few facts are known of the man called Boba Fett, or his link to Han Solo’s past. Since the Clone Wars, Fett has worked as a mercenary, a soldier, a personal guard, an assassin, and most frequently, as the most expensive bounty hunter in the known systems.”

Is it safe? Can I come out? One never can be too sure when reviewing a Boba Fett figure. His fans are easily startled, but they soon return, and in greater numbers…or something like that.

So, yeah, looking at the Fett-man today. He’s had a lot of toys over the years, but they used to be fewer and further between. The return of the brand in the ‘90s got in on the whole ‘90s anti-hero fad, so he was pushed to the forefront. As such, he figured pretty prominently into Kenner’s relaunch, getting not one, but three figures in short succession. I’ll be looking at the first of those today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boba Fett was part of the first series of Power of the Force II figures, hitting in 1995. The fact that Boba made it into Series 1 was quite a feat, given his relative obscurity compared to the others in the assortment with him. It wasn’t really something that would happen again; he tends to be held back for at least the second assortment now. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. His sculpt was unique, and as an early offering from the line, he’s certainly filtered through the line’s distinctive style. The big thing is his overall build, which isn’t quite as absurd as a few of the others in the early line-up, but it’s still really puffy for the character seen on screen. Definitely some Mandalorian super-engineering going on here. Similar to the Stormtroopers, his armor takes a bit of a turn as well. Most notably, his helmet, specifically the visor, has taken a slightly different look from the movies. It’s a lot rounder at the edges and the visor is quite a bit wider than it should be. His view-finder is also quite a bit stubbier than it really ought to be; at it’s current length, there’s no way it would be able to come down in front of his eye. The rocket pack and the scarf/Wookie braids are both removable pieces. The rocket’s pretty decent, and actually stays on a lot better than later figures. The braids and scarf rely on a rather bulky shoulder piece to attach, which looks a little off when the figure is fully assembled. Later figures would definitely get these parts down better. The paint work on Boba is based on his slightly more colorful RotJ design, so he gets the blue and orange pack and the red wrist gauntlets. The figure actually does a pretty solid job of getting all of the painted elements in place, and he even gets the bits of chipped paint on the armored sections. Boba included his distinctive blaster rifle, a piece which is missing from my figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I didn’t have this figure; I had the deluxe version instead. And I didn’t even have that one on purpose. My cousin got two of them for his birthday, and I got to keep the extra. That figure went missing over the years, and in the mean time, I’ve picked up more of an appreciation for Boba. I got this guy from Yesterday’s Fun. He was out of his box, but still in his tray, and only missing the rifle, so I figured he was worth it. He’s a goofy figure. Since Boba’s a character that’s really only got the cool design going for him, I think he was hurt a bit more by a line that made everybody look really goofy. 

Re-reading this review, I remembered I used to have a troll!  What a guy.  Man, what a simple time, when I just had that one troll, and my biggest worry was upsetting him with my totally accurate Boba Fett takes.  I’m taking a big risk here, honestly.  Oh, well.

I will say, I think I was perhaps a tad harsh on this figure in my original review.  I mean, yeah, he’s goofy, but I see that as less of an issue these days.  I actually like the goofiness.  Anyway, when I reviewed him, he didn’t have his blaster rifle, but I’ve since found him a replacement, which makes him all nice and complete.  It’s neat.  Other than that, he’s really just as he was before.  Simple.  Nice.  Overhyped (joking…mostly).

#4023: Princess Leia in Endor Gear

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

PRINCESS LEIA in ENDOR GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Remember last week when I reviewed a Star Wars figure and a coin?  Wanna see me do it again?  Well, whether you want it or not, that’s what I’m doing, because I’ve already taken the photos and set up the text file to write the review, so I’m locked in.  Sorry guys, my hands are just really tied here.  You know how it is with management.  I mean, sure, that’s also me, but do you think I can really get me to change my mind?  I’m doubtful.  So, let’s just take a look at this here Star Wars figure.  Last week, I looked at Luke in his Endor Gear, so why not follow up with his sister Leia, in her very similar Endor Gear.  Oh yeah!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia in Endor Gear was released in the Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II from 1998.  Like her brother Leia was released in her Endor Gear from the Speeder Bike sequence of Return of the Jedi, and she had likewise just gotten a released with her own vehicle the prior year.  The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  The sculpt has a lot of similarities to the prior version included with the vehicle, but actual parts re-use appears to be restricted to the torso, pelvis, and poncho.  The head is quite similar, but the angle of the neck is slightly different, as is the case with the arms.  The legs are all-new, and remove the knee joints because I guess if you’re going to buy Leia without the bike, maybe you don’t want her to be able to properly sit?  I don’t know.  She’s a bit more stable, so I guess that’s good.  The re-use of the pelvis leaves her with a bit of an odd, almost diaper-like look, but it’s hidden by the poncho, so it’s not really an issue.  Much like Luke, Leia’s paint work is notably improved from her prior release.  Detailing is sharper, and there’s a greater variety of shading and gradation to the pattern on the poncho, as well as more accurate coloring to the uniform underneath.  Leia is packed with her distinctive blaster pistol (replacing the Han-style blaster included with the vehicle pack-in), as well as the coin, and the display stand.  The coin and stand are still pretty cool, and honestly not a bad selling point.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in last week’s review, I didn’t have any of these as a kid.  In fact, I didn’t even have the prior version of this look as a kid.  I’ve had Luke sitting on my shelf unopened for a few years now, and finally decided of snag the rest of the set.  I was initially planning to piecemeal them, but found a complete run of them, so I guess that worked out.  The pack-in Leia honestly wasn’t bad, but this one is overall an improvement, and in general just a fun little extra way of getting the look, with the added bonus of a kind of nifty coin!

#4019: Luke Skywalker in Endor Gear

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

LUKE SKYWALKER in ENDOR GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Star Wars Mint is officially re-instituted with this limited edition series! New gold-colored coins feature character images from the classic silver-colored coin release-all with brand new reverse-side stampings specially designed for this exclusive commemorative offering.”

If you haven’t gathered by this point, there’s a running theme with the Power of the Force reviews that at a certain point, Kenner was so desperate to have more product to sell in the ‘90s that they were literally come up with just about every excuse to throw a figure in the box with something.  The height of it’s definitely the computer game, but they also revisited some old favorites from the original line, namely coins.  Yes, it’s like printing money…you know, expect it’s not actually legal tender in any sense of the word.  But coins!  Like before!  Also, it provided a fantastic excuse to once more release several of the heavy hitters, which was always a great idea.  So, here’s Luke Skywalker, yet again!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker in Endor Gear was part of the “Millennium Minted Coins” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II, a Toys “R” Us exclusive set of deluxe release figures, which were all dropped in 1998.  Luke was seen here, as noted by the name, in his Endor Gear from Return of the Jedi, a look that had been released alongside the Speeder Bike the year prior, but hadn’t gotten a “single” release.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Structurally, there’s undoubtedly similarities between the two releases of this look, but there’s not quite as much parts re-use as you might expect.  It’s ultimately just the head and poncho, which is honestly not a terrible set-up.  The poncho’s made of a stiffer material this time around, so it’s detailing is a little sharper, and it holds its shape a little better.  The underlying body is new, and it’s not bad.  A little pre-posed, but not to a crazy degree, and it properly gets his sans-vest look.  It’s honestly a little surprising that Kenner never threw a non-helmeted head on this body for a more standard final duel Luke, but I suppose the line has kind of hitting critical mass here.  The paint work is notably quite refined for this release.  Kenner put the extra price on these figures into the paint, and that’s especially notable on Luke’s poncho, which has a lot more variation than the vehicle pack-in, and is generally closer to the pattern seen in the movie.  Luke gets a version of his green lightsaber, as well as the coin that was the selling point of this whole thing, along with a pretty cool stand for both Luke and the Coin.  The coin itself if a replica of the original Luke in Endor Gear coin, but now gold, and with a generic backing, rather than the one with writing on it.  It’s honestly a pretty cool piece, and I appreciate the included stand, so that I don’t just have to sort of prop it up somewhere awkwardly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t much of a Toy “R” Us kid in the ‘90s, and I certainly wasn’t looking for slight variations of figures I already had to get an extra piece I wouldn’t have cared about as a kid, so I didn’t have any of these as a kid.  Luke here was actually the first of them I tracked down, by a good margin.  I got him several years ago, when pulling items from a larger Power of the Force collection.  As has become the theme with my more recent PotF reviews, he’s been sealed most of that time, and I finally opened him up in preparation for this review.  I wasn’t expecting much of him, and was mostly just buying him to complete my run, but he’s actually a really nice figure, that genuinely improves on the prior release, and feels like a slight step-up from the main line.  The coin’s also not as silly and pointless as I’d expected, so I kind of dig the whole thing.

#4011: Pote Snitkin

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

POTE SNITKIN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Pote Snitkin worked as a helmsman for Jabba the Hutt. The Skrilling piloted one of Jabba’s desert skiffs before foolishly battling Jedi Luke Skywalker over the Great Pit of Carkoon.”

There are a great many Star Wars characters with multiple action figures under their belt.  Even some of the more minor ones.  In particular, the earlier you are in the run of the line, the more likely it is that there are other versions of the characters.  Power of the Force has a lot of characters who are prone to multiple releases, but there are a few unique ones in the mix.  Today, I’m looking at one of the unique ones, Pote Snitkin, a rather minor character from the Jabba sequence at the beginning of Return of the Jedi.  Let’s take a look at Pote!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Pote Snitkin is the last of the four figures in the Fan Club assortment of Star Wars: Power of the Force II from 1998.  He is also, notably, the last single carded figure from the line that I’m reviewing here on the site, which is pretty nifty.  The figure a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  While he’s got the standard articulation set-up for the line, he’s notably pretty restricted by how the sculpt is laid out with it all.  The neck joint in particular is without much range, and the shoulders don’t do much in the default configuration.  That said, his outer poncho piece is removable, which frees up the shoulders a bit more.  The actual sculpt quality is quite strong.  He’s got a lot of depth, with plenty of texture work.  He very much feels at home in the lived-in look of the Star Wars universe, and exhibits some of the most in depth sculpting of the line at this time.  Pote’s got a decent build to him, being notably bigger and bulkier than the standard figure, which just gives the sculpting more of a canvas to work with.  He’s a little bit pre-posed, especially on the arms, but it’s all rather natural, and he looks fine just standing.  Pote’s color work is, much like the sculpt, quite strong.  The base colors seem a decent match for the movie, and he gets a pretty nice selection of accenting, which helps to further emphasize the level of sculpted detailing.  Pote is packed with a force pike, a blaster rifle, and a Freeze Frame…that doesn’t actually have Pote in it…since it’s apparently his “view” of Luke clearing the skiff.  Kind of an odd choice, but there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had none of the Fan Club figures as a kid, as I didn’t actually know they existed, so Pote was not for child Ethan.  Pote’s not for most of the Ethans up to this point, because it actually took me a little bit to get one.  He’s easily the least frequently appearing of the four figures, I’m sure in no small part due to this being his only figure.  As it happens, Pote is, as touched on above, the last single carded figure I needed for my set, who I finally managed to snag on eBay.  He’s a really strong figure, actually, quite possibly the line’s finest sculpt.  There’s a lot to like there, and it’s aged very well, while still feeling right at home with the rest of the line.  Feels like a pretty fitting final single to pick up.

#4007: Ree-Yees

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

REE-YEES

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Even with a court full of conspirators, Jabba the Hutt never suspected Ree-Yees as a potential assassin. Ree-Yees cut a deal with the Empire to destroy Jabba, but fate would save that role for Princess Leia.”

Missed it by *that* much.  Like, do you ever think that Ree-Yees tried to play it off to the Empire like he was actually somehow responsible for the deed?  Just to see how far he could take it?  I mean, who could blame him.  Well, the Empire, I guess.  And they have a history of being less than pleasant to the people that cross them.  Don’t do it Ree-Yees, you’ve got so much to live for!  Or maybe you don’t.  I don’t really know you all that well.  I have your action figure though.  Let’s review that!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ree-Yees was released in the final 1998 assortment of Star Wars: Power of the Force II.  The final assortment was largely repacks, with the only actually new figures being Ree-Yees here and the Death Star Trooper.  Given general diminishing interest in the line at the time, as well as the heavy repacking, Ree-Yees and the Trooper were both rather rare at retail, at least at the time.  The Trooper was at least given an identical re-release as part of a weapons pack, but Ree-Yees was not so lucky, so he remained one of the more rare pieces from the line.  Of course, we’re still playing by PotF pricing rules, so he’s not exactly going to break the bank.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His sculpt was unique to him, at least at the start.  It did wind up re-used for the Disney Parks-exclusive Star Tours version of Ree-Yees, but it’s still the same guy.  It’s actually a pretty nice sculpt.  The details are all really sharp, and it matches up well to his design in the movie.  He’s got a bit of pre-posing, but it’s not a bad set-up, and he ultimately looks pretty natural just standing there.  The figure’s color work is cleanly handled.  I quite like the metallic purple shade on his outfit; it’s pretty unique and stands out with the other figures.  Ree-Yees is packed with two different blasters, as well as a Freeze Frame slide showing Ree-Yees on Jabba’s Sail Barge.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In all my years tracking down Power of the Force figures, I think I’ve seen Ree-Yees in the wild once?  He doesn’t show up often, and I wasn’t in a position to buy him at the time, so I didn’t, and kind of regretted it.  He’s been on my list since, but, as I neared the end, I ultimately broke down and bought him on eBay, because he was a good price, and, well, I still needed him.  He’s probably one of the stronger alien figures from this line, so he feels like he was worth the wait.

#3972: Endor with Ewok

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

ENDOR with EWOK

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The Endor star system was long thought to be an insignificant, removed cluster with few planets and no major travel routes. For that reason, it was considered the ideal construction site for the second Death Star battle station and in turn became the location of the Galactic Civil War’s final battle. The Battle of Endor resulted in the destruction of the Death Star, the slaying of Emperor Palpatine, and the scattering of the Imperial fleet.

Endor’s moon (Sanctuary Moon) is home to vast forests of giant trees, many predator species and the tribal Ewoks. The tree-dwelling Ewoks are curious creatures; they stand about one meter tall, rely on primitive spears and bows for hunting, and dwell in village clusters built high within the forest’s giant trees. Their understanding of forest survival skills are extremely advanced and came in quite useful during the Battle of Endor where they helped a Rebel strike force destroy the Death Star’s force field generator.”

Last week, I stared into the Kenner “hey exactly how far can we stretch the Star Wars license” abyss, and that abyss, “The Complete Galaxy Collection” stared back.  And in that staring, I found that there were in fact *more* Complete Galaxy sets than just the one I looked at so, hey, I guess this is a running thing here, right?  Cool.  Cool cool cool.  So, let’s take a look at the line’s Endor representation, along with its resident figure, an Ewok!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Endor with Ewok is the second of the four sets that made up the “Complete Galaxy” portion of Kenner’s Power of the Force line.  Like the others, it was released in 1998, at their height of the Kenner Star Wars sprawl.  There were two sets specifically from Return of the Jedi, and this was one of them.  Like the Death Star set, the bulk of it’s this sort of globe thing that’s supposed to be Endor…’s moon?  I think that’s what the text on the box is implying? Anyway, you get a sort of basic approximation of it as seen in the movie, with some spots labeled.  Apparently there was a lot of water that we just didn’t see?  That makes a bit more sense, I suppose.  While the Death Star base is pretty solidly attached when you want it to be, Endor really just rests on top, so it falls off a lot.  Also, the base clearly says “Endor,” despite the words on the back implying otherwise.  No consistency, which makes sense, honestly.  The interior of the set is probably the most ambitious of the ones we got.  You get part of the Battle of Endor, complete with a downed AT-ST, and there’s a glider mounted to the top so that the included figure can make use of it.  The glider has spring-loaded arms, so I think it’s meant to fold-up and pop-out when the set opens, but..it doesn’t really do that.  There’s a lot of points of failure, and it just sort of clunks about.  It certainly tries its best to be cool, though.

The included Ewok figure has the distinction of being the only truly unique figure these sets spawned, since he’s actually a separate character from the other Ewoks released.  He’s about 2 inches tall and has 4 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s very similar to Wicket from the standard line.  Totally unique sculpt, ultimately, but similar.  I do miss the removable headdress, but I can understand its removal.  He’s got a spot on his back where his glider can be mounted, which isn’t too obtrusive when he’s not on it.  The color scheme is distinctly different from the other two, and it looks pretty decent.  There’s some slight bleed over around the edges, but generally it’s minor.  The Ewok includes the…whatever you would call the things they drop on the stormtroopers in the battle.  It’s rocks with rope.  It’s pretty well sculpted and fits nicely in his hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION 

As with so many Star Wars items recently, I bought this a little while ago, still sealed, and am only just now getting around to opening it.  This one’s not quite as old as a lot of the others, in a sense that I purchased it within the last year, but it’s still been a tick.  I think this one tries to be more than the Vader set, and I can admire that, but it’s also not a fantastic execution, and there’s more room for error, so the final product is just sort of…fine.  It’s nice to get a unique Ewok out of it, though.

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.

#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.

#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.