Tag Archives: Star Wars

#4015: Cruisemissile Trooper

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

CRUISEMISSILE TROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Can you believe there was a time when a toymaker felt that there weren’t enough characters and concepts in the Star Wars movies to keep a toyline going, and decided to introduce their own?  Well, okay, there were actually a couple of times.  During the vintage run, Kenner had come up with some in-house creations, notably the “mini rigs”, which were smaller scale vehicles, and they had even proposed a continuation of line post-Jedi that would have used new concepts.  By the ‘90s, though, things were more locked down…apart from one particularly odd-ball item, dubbed the Cruisemissile Trooper.  Based on nothing seen in the films or any other official material, the Cruisemissile Trooper is nevertheless the modern line’s first Expanded Universe offering…such as it is.  But what is it?  Well, let’s explore that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Cruisemissile Trooper was released under the Power of the Force II banner in 1997, officially as part of the vehicles line-up, though exactly how he’s classified can be a bit touchy.  It’s a vehicle, for sure, but there’s also a figure worked into it, and he’s not actually removable.  Also, the name very much suggests that the Trooper himself is the main focus, with the actual ship not getting its own name proper.  Whatever its distinctions, the whole contraption measures just over 10 inches long, has 4 points of articulation (where hinged flaps can fold out) and a sliding plate to reveal the Trooper’s head.  The actual Trooper is scaled to match the 3 3/4 inch figures of the main line (albeit only being an upper half; there aren’t actually any legs in there), and has a proper neck joint, as well as joints on the shoulders that move, but are too loose to hold an actual pose.  The figure’s sculpt is clearly patterned on the basic TIE Pilot sculpt, though he’s been modified to work better within the context of the Cruisemissile set-up.  Said set-up is a big, flat, pointy, arrowhead shaped thing that wraps all around the figure.  It looks a bit like a Star Destroyer got ‘90s-ized…which I suppose is fairly accurate.  There’s a lot of panelling and grates.  I don’t know that it *quite* lands the Imperial aesthetic, but it wouldn’t look entirely out of place with prequel era offerings.  You can fold out the back to reveal a pair of missile launchers, while the front flaps fold out from underneath to form wings.  Pushing back the slide towards the back pulls back the “hood”, allowing the spring-loaded trooper to pop his head up.  This was a gimmick that Kenner was fond of in ’97, offering a similarly-styled set of vehicles in their Batman & Robin tie-in line.  Color-wise, the vehicle is a lot of grey and silver, with some red thrown in for a bit of pop.  There were a fair number of decals, which kept it consistent in styling with the other vehicles of the time.  The Trooper is painted, albeit very basically, and is mostly white, which is a good contrast from the TIE Pilots.  The set included two missiles, but no other extras to speak of.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have a Cruisemissile Trooper as a kid.  I think I recall one of my friends having one?  I definitely had the equivalent Robin vehicle from the Batman & Robin line, so I was familiar with the concept, prior to tracking one of these down as an adult.  I say “tracking one down,” but in actuality, it’s one of those items that just landed in front of me at the right time.  I don’t know entirely what I think of it. It’s such a goofy idea, and it’s kind of unclear what it’s supposed to be, or how it ties into anything else.  It feels like they started with the gimmick and worked their way backwards, and never quite found their footing.  Not having any sort of follow-up to it doesn’t help, I suppose.  It’s just this one-off piece, a remnant of a direction the line *could* have gone, but didn’t, a lot like the early deluxe figures from the line.  I can’t say it’s not a fun toy, and I certainly found myself fiddling with it a lot during my review process, which isn’t a bad sign.  It’s just…odd.  I’ll take odd over boring, though.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0065: Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper Disguise

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

LUKE SKYWALKER in STORMTROOPER DISGUISE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Welcome to the end of another week!  Once more it’s Friday, which means it’s time for another Flashback Friday Figure Addendum!  Jumping back over to the Star Wars side of things, I’m revisiting Luke Skywalker, of the disguised as a Stormtrooper variety!

 “Disguised as stormtroopers and fighting off a regiment of Imperial troops inside the Death Star, the escaping band of heroes finds refuge in a garbage receptacle. The Rebels realize their problem has changed when the walls begin closing in.”

So, apparently there was this movie released yesterday. Star Wars? Kind of a big deal I guess. While I’m still totally up to date on the actual Last Jedi stuff in my collection, I still have plenty of older figures in the backlog. And, since I looked at the Stormtrooper Disguise Han Solo two weeks ago, why not take a looksie at his companion Luke figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker as Stormtrooper was released in the 1996 assortment of Power of the Force II, as that year’s third variant of Luke, and the fifth overall Luke in the line. This was our second Stormtrooper Disguise Luke, following the one released in the original Power of the Force line. He’s about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. Despite how it may look, the only re-used piece on this guy is the torso, which is the same one used on the Stormtrooper Han. Nevertheless, he’s still the same height as Han and the basic troopers, meaning he’s not actually short for a Stormtrooper. Instead of Han’s more pre-posed look, Luke has a more generic standing pose, which looks decent enough. He still follows the general style of the line, so he’s far more muscle bound than any of the troopers we see on screen. But, like I said with Han, if you’re gonna have the style, I guess it’s best to stick with it. His head is a re-working of the early PotF2 Luke head. It’s not one of the better Hamill likenesses, but it’s not as terrible as some of the early sculpts. Plus, it means he fits with the rest of them, which I suppose is for the best. The paint on Luke is fairly straight forward stuff. It’s pretty clean overall, and matches up with the rest of the line pretty well. Luke was packed with a removable helmet (the same one included with Han) and a standard Stormtrooper blaster. It’s a pretty standard set of extras, but more than one accessory is always nice with a Star Wars figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting Han as a mail-away, I was on the look out for this guy. It took him a little while to hit, but I ended up finding him at Another Universe, the comic book store in the local mall. I was pretty excited for him, and he makes for a pretty cool pairing with Han to be sure.

This review went up the day after the release of The Last Jedi.  It would have most certainly been written before I saw the movie, more than likely a week or two in advance.  I had no idea at the time what kind of response we were in for.  Man, what a wonderfully blissful time that was, huh?  As far as the actual review, this one was pretty well on point.  I think he’s generally an okay figure, albeit a rather dated one.  The only thing missing from my original was his blaster rifle, which I’ve since replaced.  Yay, he can shoot people now.  Also, for some reason I didn’t have turnarounds for this guy, so I’m adding those too!

#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.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0063: TIE Fighter Pilot

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

TIE FIGHTER PILOT

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Hey-o, and welcome to the end of the week! We did it again, you guys!  Here we are! It’s Friday, so it’s a beautiful day for some addendum-ing!  Let’s flip back over to the world of Star Wars and take a follow-up look at the TIE Fighter Pilot!

“With its vast space fleet, the Imperial Navy is a model of military efficiency. The best pilots in its ranks are rigorously trained to useto use highly maneuverable and heavily armed Twin Ion Engine (TIE) fighters. The small ships are used to both attack – and defend against – Rebel forces.”

Do I have to turn in my nerd card if I admit that until I read that bio in preparation for this review, I actually had no clue what TIE stood for? I kinda thought it was because they looked like bow ties. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle! Wait, wrong 3 3/4-inch-based franchise! Without further ado, let’s look at one of these Twin Ion Engine fighter pilots!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The TIE Fighter Pilot was released in 1996, during Power of the Force II’s second year. This marks the second time this design had been seen in plastic, following the vintage figure. The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation, which was standard for the line. The figure’s sculpt was unique to him, and does a fairly decent job of capturing the TIE design from the movies. He’s surprisingly tame in his stylization and his pre-posing, and also helped by not having a likeness to really worry about. The lack of pre-pose is likely owed to his intended use with the actual TIE Fighter vehicle (which, fun fact, arrived on store shelves a year before this guy’s release), since too much of a pose would have made seating him in the ship rather difficult. I appreciate that the figure’s been designed in such a way as to keep his neck movement, by way of attaching the tubes and box to his head. It can look a little weird when turned to certain angles, but is by-and-large a well-worked out concept. The paint on this guy could have been rather lazy and un-inspired, but Kenner went the extra mile and added differing sheens to the various black tones, as well as making sure he has all of the proper insignias. It’s really quite remarkable work. This figure was packed with two different blasters, one large, and one small. Neither really seems to go with the figure, and mine has been without both for a little while.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was growing up, in addition to grandchild-specific gifts, both sets of grandparents would tend to go out and buy one smaller item in bulk, to give everyone that one same item. The TIE Fighter was one such gift, given to all of the grandkids on my Dad’s side one year for Christmas. We were all pretty into Star Wars at the time, so it was pretty sensible. While I’ve never really had a particular attachment to the TIE Fighter pilot, I do still really like this guy, and he’s always been a steady fixture of my collection.

This is another 2017 review, written in the midst of a rather hectic summer of multiple cross-country trips and a coast-line-spanning move.  I’d jumped back into Power of the Force with a batch of figures I’d gotten for cheap in February of that year, and moved onto the prior entries already in my collection.  In the midst of all the craziness, I’ll admit, I completely forgot the bit about what “TIE” stood for.  In one ear and out the other and all that.  The actual review covers the basics well-enough, I suppose.  He was at the time missing both of blasters, but I’ve since replaced them.  The larger one is particular comedic in its sizing, which I find quite amusing.

#4003: Luke Skywalker with T-16 Skyhopper Model

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

LUKE SKYWALKER with T-16 SKYHOPPER MODEL

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“While tinkering with his model T-16 skyhopper and tending to his uncle’s new droids, Luke unwittingly short circuits R2-D2’s recording system, triggering the holographic appearance of a young Princess Leia. The image implores the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but vanishes soon thereafter.”

Luke Skywalker has four notable looks over the course of the original Star Wars film, but by far the most definitive is his “farm boy” look, which, understandably, was the first to get a toy back in 1978.  It was also the first to get an update for the relaunched line in 1995, albeit with a notable pectoral upgrade.  It was never truly absent from Power of the Force, but I suppose there was a slight downtick in its frequency.  Then, in the space of about a year and a half, there were *so* many of them.  Farm boy Lukes as far as the eye could see!  And they all had their own minute difference.  Well, here’s the one that wrapped it all up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker with T-16 Skyhopper was part of the 1999 run of Star Wars: Power of the Force, following the shift to Hasbro’s name being on the packaging.  Like last week’s Leia, he was part of an assortment featuring the CommTech gimmick from the Episode I line, and was meant to run alongside that one.  He was the seventh and final figure in the line based on Luke’s main A New Hope look, and fifth variation on the “new” mold version of it.  Each of those Lukes was based on a specific snippet of the movie, and this one is specifically Luke right after the purchase of the droids, when he discovers the message from Leia while cleaning them up.  Yay, another non-action scene!  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  While it’s the same count as the Flashback Photo Luke, it’s a different configuration.  This one lacks the wrist movement, and only gets swivels on the elbows instead of hinges, but gets proper knee movement, which was very rare in this line.  It’s good for getting him kneeling down, like he does in the scene this figure’s meant to be referencing.  His sculpt is using the “updated” Luke head, with a body that’s all new parts, albeit ones that all look very similar to the other four Lukes from this period of time.  The paint is on par with the other offerings, a little cleaner and a little more involved than some of the other variations on the look, rivaling the Flashback figure.  Once again, I do like the accenting on the boots, and it otherwise does what it needs to.  Luke is packed with the T-16 Skyhopper model mentioned in his name, as well as a small hand tool, and his CommTech stands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like I said in my Leia review, the CommTech figures aren’t as common as other figures in the line.  And, with all the similar looking Lukes, this one has a tendency to fly under the radar.  I saw this one once or twice in the early days of jumping into the line, and just never got around to getting him.  Ultimately, he’s one of those figures I just happened to find mixed in with a larger lot of PotF figures that got traded into work.  He’s…fine?  Like, he does some new, but also feels very same-y.  After the Flashback figure, which was kind of the best of these variations, he feels like he’s sort of treading water, which, I guess, in a way, he kind of was.

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.

#3999: Princess Leia with Sporting Blaster

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

PRINCESS LEIA with SPORTING BLASTER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Her ship under attack from Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer, Princess Leia downloads the secret Death Star plans into R2-D2 for safe-keeping . After being stunned by a stormtrooper blast, Leia became a prisoner of Darth Vader. R2-D2 avoids capture by fleeing with the valuable data in an escape pod.”

When The Phantom Menace hit in 1999, its tie-in toyline took over the main focus of the toys, but, while Power of the Force was winding down, it didn’t go away right away, and in fact ran concurrently with the Episode I line the whole time.  It was, however, a far more scaled back approach, and almost a different line, revamping the heavy hitters from the Original Trilogy to fit better into the slightly updated style of the new movie line.  A New Hope was really the focus of this last run, so we got all of the major players in updated versions of those looks.  For the fourth time, Princess Leia showed back up in the all-white get-up with the hair-buns, albeit with a slightly different approach than earlier.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia with Sporting Blaster was added to the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line in 1999, as part of the first portion of the CommTech offerings, concurrent with the early Episode I line.  This was the fourth white dress Leia in the line.  While the original and Princess Leia Collection figures were more all-encompassing, and the Freeze Frame figure was post Detention Block, this one is specifically based on her appearance at the start of the movie, which was a unique approach at the time.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  She followed the trend of scaling Leia down a bit.  She was still a little too tall for proper accuracy, but was certainly better scaled than the rest of her figures in this line.  Movement wise, she’s okay, but you can’t really move the neck joint, due to how the sculpt is set-up.  Her sculpt was all-new to her, and remained unique to this release.  It’s not bad.  The hood is sculpted up, which is a nice change of pace, and means it meshes better with the torso sculpt.  The skirt is cloth, which doesn’t look as consistent, but it means that she has less limitations on her hip movement, meaning she has an easier time sitting than most Leias.  Her paint work is fine, with quite a bit going on with the head, since it’s all molded in white.  The application’s a bit thick, but overall pretty clean.  Leia is packed with a blaster pistol (accurate to the scene she’s based on), as well as a CommTech stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The CommTech figures in general aren’t as common as most of the earlier run of the line.  I only got one of them actually new, and the rest I’ve been slowly piecing together since.  This one was ultimately the last of the set that I tracked down; after finding Wuher on a dealer’s table, I dug through some of the other PotF figures there, and this one was there, letting me knock two figures off my list at once, which is always fun.  She’s more limited in her application than other versions of Leia, but she’s not a bad figure, and an interesting exploration of the direction the line was going before its end.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0061: Darth Vader

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

DARTH VADER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Hey, it’s Friday, which means it’s time to Flashback, all FiQ-ily.  With an addendum.  And stuff.  It’s been a lot of Toy Biz Marvel for this particular feature, but today I’m going all radically different and doing a Star Wars thing.  Oh yeah!  Here’s a Darth Vader…again!

“Once known as Anakin Skywalker, expert pilot and hero, Vader studied the ways of the Force under young Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. His impatience with the Jedi training made him susceptible to the dark side, which corrupted him as he gave in to his anger and aggression. Vader was almost killed in a confrontation with Kenobi, and was forced to adopt his current life support systems and fearsome body armor.”

You know, it’s been two weeks since I reviewed a Star Wars figure. That’s a long time. I could go into withdrawal. Or worse yet, I could get a huge backlog of Star Wars figures to review! Oh…right…too late. Well, let’s take another stab at getting through that backlog, shall we? Let’s have a look at my man Vader here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Darth Vader was part of the very first series of the Power of the Force II line. Believe it or not, this was only the second small-scale Vader ever released. That’s kind of crazy in this day and age where you can’t go anywhere without tripping over like 50 of this guy. This was long before the trend of 100% movie accuracy, so this figure ends up as a rather indeterminate version of Vader. I suppose he’s technically an Empire/Jedi Vader, since his robes go under his shoulder armor. Of course, even the original Vader, who was released to coincide with the first movie, had the robes under the armor, so I think it’s less an accuracy thing and more a “they just never really noticed” thing. The figure stands 4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. Vader’s not only taller than his compatriots, he’s also just generally larger. This is Vader if Star Wars had been made in the ‘90s and he’d been played by Jeep Swenson…the ‘90s were a strange time. Apart from the overall Swenson-ness, the sculpt isn’t terrible. The quilted pattern on his undersuit is nice, and most of the important details are there. The helmet’s a little off, but it was a marked improvement on the vintage version, and it’s not like anyone would ever confuse it for anything but Darth Vader’s helmet. The one notable omission on this guy is his lack of the bottom section of his robe. However, as with the handling of the shoulder armor, this is something consistent with the vintage release, so maybe Kenner/Hasbro just hadn’t learned yet. The figure’s topped off with a plastic cape, which makes the already bulky Vader even bulkier. It’s not a bad piece, but it definitely has a flair for the dramatic. Vader’s paint is fairly straightforward stuff. Mostly, he’s just molded in black, with a few little spots of detail work. Nothing spectacular, but it’s fair enough fore the time. Vader’s one accessory was his lightsaber, which, like all of the early figures, came in short and long variants. Mine no longer has his, but I’m fairly certain it was one of the short ones, given the basic time period of when I would have gotten this.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t know 100% how this guy came into my collection. I know how he *didn’t* come into my collection. Let me ‘splain: the first time I saw this figure, it was just after seeing The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the theatre. After the movie, my parents took me to the KB Toys in the same mall so I could get one figure. It came down to this guy or Phoebus from Hunchback. Having just seen the movie, it was Phoebus, and not Vader, who went home with me that day. I know that Vader was given to me by my parents shortly after. Now, if I had to guess, using my much more fully-formed and adult investigative skills, I’d say my parents more than likely bought me both of these figures that day and just gave me Vader a little later. I can’t know for certain, of course, but that’s certainly the type of thing they’re prone to do. 

This was a fall 2017 review, after I’d burned through a lot of my new purchases I’d gotten over that summer.  For Star Wars in particular, I’d gotten through all of the Force Friday products from The Last Jedi’s product drop, which was, like, two weeks of solid Star Wars.  But, I was still very hyped, so I wasn’t approaching any burnout, which I guess is nice.  I do laugh at my remark about the size of my Star Wars backlog, because I’m at a point now where there’s not so much of that.  I think my actual review of Vader’s not so bad.  He was, however, missing his lightsaber, and also I neglected to do turnarounds, so here I am, fixing both of those things!

#3995: Wuher

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

WUHER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“The surly human Wuher saw a lot of action while working at the seedy Mos Eisley cantina. His policy not to allow droids in the establishment was facilitated by a droid detector unit. Upon entering the cantina with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and C-3PO were promptly ousted.”

Oh good, an action figure of a racist.  That sure sounds fun.  Like, here’s a guy so racist that it’s, like, his second most defining trait.  It’s Wuher! Who’s Wuher?  Well, he’s a bartender and he’s racist.  How do we know that?  Because his one bit of dialogue is delivered from behind the bar, and it’s about how he’s a racist.  So, you know, that’s who the guy is.  Anyway, here’s an action figure of the aforementioned racist.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wuher was offered in February of 2000 as a Fan Club-exclusive figure in the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line (which was now under the Hasbro brand, following the release of the Episode I tie-in product).  He was originally meant to be an early Fan Club-exclusive, before a wider retail release, but retailers weren’t interested, so that plan was scrapped.  However, like some of the other Fun Club figures, quantities of him ended up at Toys “R” Us later down the line, at discount prices.  Wuher’s packaging shows off the last handful of figures from the line, all from the last assortment, which kept up the CommTech gimmick from the Episode I line.  Curiously, it also shows off a Chewbacca figure that would ultimately be released under Power of the Jedi, sans CommTech.  But what of Wuher himself?  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation.  While others in the last assortment got improved movement, Wuher maintained the basic approach from the bulk of the line.  His sculpt was all-new at the time, but would be mostly repurposed for a two-pack release in different colors in 2004.  It regards to capturing the schlubby and dirty racist guy, it does it pretty well.  His face has a more than passing resemblance to actor Ted Burnett, who played Wuher in the film, and he’s got that appropriate slack jawed sort of sneering look he had during his one bit of dialogue.  The body sculpt is on par with earlier offerings from the line, so it’s basic, but it works.  Perhaps the oddest quirk about it is that the glass in his right hand is permanently molded there, which is an odd choice to say the least.  The 2004 release would alter the mold to him a more normal hand.  The color work here is, much like the sculpt, rather basic, but there’s some more intricate work on the face, which makes him appropriately scruffy.  The glass is once again an issue, with some rather obscenely sloppy paint around the edges on that one.  Wuher is packed with his droid detector unit (for all of his racist needs), which is a neat enough piece, albeit hollow on the back side, as well as a CommTech stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I make my way closer and closer to completing my Power of the Force collection, I’ve started encountering some of the slightly odder releases.  Wuher’s one of those, because he’s not particularly pricey, but he’s also not all that common (admittedly, none of the 2000 figures really are).  So, I was pleasantly surprised to find him sitting on a dealer’s table at Ocean City Comic Con last year, mixed in with a bunch of others more common offerings, for a good price.  He’s….fine.  I mean, it’s not like Wuher’s a great character with a great look.  So, this figure really does the best it can, and it honestly looks pretty great behind the bar in the Cantina playset, and that in and of itself is pretty cool.

#3991: AT-AT Commander & Driver

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

AT-AT COMMANDER & DRIVER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Oh man, I haven’t reviewed any Power of the Force II figures since last year, you guys! …that’s, like, a whole month.  Crazy.  So, let’s jump back into the fray of ‘90s Kenner 3 3/4-inch Star Wars! As I make my way through what remains of the line, I am, of course, running low on standard release figures, but there’s still the oddball and pack-in releases to be considered.  Early in the line, the vehicles were packaged without figures, but as the line progressed, and Kenner was looking to get as many figures out as possible, pack-ins became the standard.  Most just included a single figure, but the line’s largest vehicle, the Electronic AT-AT, featured two figures of its own, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The AT-AT Commander and Driver were packed in with the Star Wars: Power of the Force II AT-AT, released in 1997.  Both figures were exclusive to this set, and remained so for the run of the line.

The Commander is unnamed, but is clearly meant to be General Maximillian Veers, the primary AT-AT Commander seen in the movie’s Hoth battle.  This was his second figure, following up on his vintage counterpart.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His sculpt is similar to the other Imperial Officer figures the line put out, albeit with the obvious change-up that he’s wearing the armor seen in the AT-AT scenes.  His detailing is definitely on the softer side, and his head seems a touch oversized relative to the body sculpt, but I do really like the detailing on the armored sections of the uniform.  There’s not really much of a Julian Glover likeness, but it doesn’t look *unlike* him, and the uniform is distinct enough that it’s pretty clear who he’s supposed to be.  His color work is basic, but does all the stuff it needs to do.  I do also really appreciate that he’s got the varied grey shades, to help the armor and cloth stand-out from each other.

I’ve actually already looked at *an* AT-AT Driver from Power of the Force, but it wasn’t this one, it was the ever so slightly different single card release that they did so that people could have a second Driver to pilot the AT-AT without needing to buy a whole second big vehicle.  This one’s the original, though.  He’s really not different, in a broad sense (and, in fact, you would’t really want him to be), but he’s the slightest bit taller than the single, and his pose is a bit more rigid.  The details are also somewhat softer on this release than the single, more in line with the Commander’s sculpt.  His paint work is more or less identical, though, and that’s again a good thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At one point in time, I considered going the route of buying the vehicles that came with figures for my complete run of Power of the Force, but this was the one that broke me, because it’s so big, and kind of pricey, and I just wasn’t looking for the commitment.  Thankfully, I was able to find both of the pack-in figures loose, so that made that whole bit easier for me.  These figures aren’t great by any stretch, but they’re decent enough, provided you’re not buying a big vehicle to get them.