Tag Archives: Star Wars

#4123: Boba Fett – The Pit of Carkoon

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

BOBA FETT — THE PIT OF CARKOON

STAR WARS SAGA (HASBRO)

“Part of the entourage accompanying Jabbe the Hutt to the Pit of Carkoon to watch the execution of Han Solo, the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett leaps into battle to save his life after Jabba’s sail barge is attacked by Han’s rescuers.”

You gotta really respect the moxie of Star Wars Saga, the worst Star Wars toyline, for producing two figures of Boba Fett, one of the most popular “cool guys” in Star Wars, and having them both be based on objectively his lamest moments in the franchise.  His entry into the line was kid Boba, of the “hyuuup”-ing variety, and then the one Original Trilogy figure is specifically called out as being based on the moment just before his extremely humiliating death in Return of the Jedi.  Clearly, someone at Hasbro wasn’t feeling very generous to poor Boba.  Well, I’ll do my best not to humiliate him any further.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boba Fett — The Pit of Carkoon was figure number 08 in the 2003 assortment of Star Wars Saga, hitting in the line’s second year.  As touched on in the intro, he was the second Boba in the line, after the more direct Attack of the Clones tie-in figure from the launch assortment.  He was the first specifically Jedi-based Boba since the Power of the Force days.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation, plus a moving range-finder.  The movement on this guy is kind of interesting, because he’s more posable than was standard for the line at the time, but it’s all kind of weird.  Both legs get three joints each, but on the right leg, the two joints beneath the hip are on his knee, while the left leg puts both joints on the ankle.  His arms also both get swivels at the shoulders and the elbows, but the shoulders are tied into the action feature, so they can’t really hold a pose.  He himself is rather pre-posed, meant for a sort of firing his blaster from the hip while flying through the air pose, which…honestly, works pretty well.  Saga was frequently a mess with the over posing, but I gotta give them credit for the times they hit their mark.  The sculpt is honestly not bad.  It takes a lot of design cues from the 300th Boba, and that was a nice sculpt itself.  Hasbro rather liked this one, and wound up re-using it a lot until the more posable options came into vogue.  The only drawback of this release is the “missile” on his jetpack, which, due to doubling as the plunger used to activate his blaster firing action feature, is just the wrong shape.  The pilot Jango Fett from the prior year used the same feature, and had the same problem, but he had the other jetpack design, so it was less noticeable.  Boba’s color work is generally on the basic side.  He’s not too far off from what we were seeing with Power of the Force, which isn’t quite as technically impressive as later Fetts, but it’s also not a terrible look.  The basics are covered, and the sculpt is strong enough to shine through pretty well.  Boba was packed with his blaster rifle, a blast effect for the rifle, and a rocket blast flight stand that plugged into his jetpack.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While not my first Boba Fett, this was the first one I actively chose to get.  Well, okay, it’s the first OT Boba I actively chose to get.  The second year of figures weren’t as plentiful as the first, but showed up in some weirder spots, notably the PX at the military base where my grandparents did their grocery shopping.  I was with my Grandmother for one of her trips, and got to pick out a few Star Wars figures, which wound up being this guy, Hoth Han, and robot hand Anakin.  Boba is the last hold-out of the trio, the one that stuck with my collection through a good number of purges.  I make fun of Saga and of Boba Fett, but I can’t knock this figure.  He’s kind of a gem of the line, much like last week’s Luke.

#4119: Luke Skywalker – Bespin Duel

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

LUKE SKYWALKER — BESPIN DUEL

STAR WARS SAGA (HASBRO)

“As Luke battles Darth Vader in Cloud City, he rebuffs Vader’s attempts to mae him submit to the dark side. Wounded by Vader, Luke heroically chooses to plummet to almost certain death rather than to yield to the dark side. Managing to grab hold of a weathervane, he shrugs to hang on until his Rebel friends can rescue him.”

Well, it’s come to this.  I finished a whole run of Power of the Force reviews.  I finished my meager Episode I and Power of the Jedi collections.  Chronologically, that leaves just one thing: Star Wars Saga.  Since completely rebranding with an entirely movie centric line for Episode I didn’t turn out great for retailers when reception to the movie was lukewarm, the tie-in line for Attack of the Clones maintained the cross-franchise reach of Power of the Jedi.  Though not officially named so on the packaging, the ensuing line was dubbed “Saga” by the fanbase, a name that stuck for its three-year run.  Coupled with the Attack of the Clones figures at launch were some classics from the Original Trilogy, including today’s focus, Bespin Duel Luke Skywalker.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker — Bespin Duel is figure 29 in the first year of Star Wars Saga.  He was designed to pair off the Bespin Duel Darth Vader, to replicate parts of their fight from Empire.  Luke is in his rebel fatigues, most commonly referred to as his “Bespin” attire, his main look for Empire, which was making its third appearance in the scale here.  The figure stands just under 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  He was notably quite posable for the time.  The line was only just starting to get into more involved articulation with Episode I and had kind of taken a bit of a step back, with Saga trending more towards really pre-posed, almost statue like figures.  While Luke still maintains some of that pre-posing, he breaks from the more static trends.  His sculpt was totally new, and unique to him (though it got re-released in its entirety a couple of times), and its a departure from a lot of the Lukes we’d seen previously.  Gone are the barrel-chested proportions of the Power of the Force days, for something that does look a lot more like the actual Mark Hammil’s build.  His new head sculpt is more expressive than earlier Lukes, capturing the moment where Luke finds out about his true parentage, scrunched up face and all.  It’s quite a detailed sculpt, and shows the stronger side of what Saga brought to the table.  It’s not entirely without the messed up parts of Saga, with the most notable issue being that his arms are just not the same length.  The posing hides it, but it’s certainly there.  The figure gets a slashing action feature, activated by pushing the button on his back, as well as a removable right hand.  There were three variants on the removable hand, one magnetic with the magnet on the stump, one magnetic with the magnet as a peg on the hand, and one with a basic plastic peg.  The one seen here is the third one, which is less flashy, but works.  Luke’s color work is actually pretty cool, because his fatigues get a pretty decent wash to bring out the details of the sculpt, and he even gets some of he blood on his face, seen in the movie.  Luke was packed with his lightsaber (which had a metal hilt that could be removed), a blaster pistol (which could be stored in the working holster on his leg), a bacta pack that goes over his stump, and a rather impressive weather vane piece for him to hang from.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Attack of the Clones is honestly the worst Star Wars movie, and Saga is probably the worst Star Wars toyline, but my deep dark secret is that I not only loved them both at the time, I also love them both now.  It’s 100% nostalgia, and I won’t remotely deny that, but they just hit at the right time for me to be super into them.  I bought a lot of the Saga figures back in the day, but also lost or sold pretty much all of them over the years.  Luke was one I owned back in the day, but he didn’t make it through unscathed.  He’s notably the only one I’ve actually gone back and replaced, because I think he’s genuinely a neat figure.  Like, not even a nostalgic thing, I think he’s just one of the best figures from the set, free of a lot of the issues that plague the rest of the line.

#4115: Wedge Antilles

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

WEDGE ANTILLES

STAR WARS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Hey! Hey!  Did you guys know that Wedge Antilles is my favorite Star Wars character?  Even though he’s minor?  And that it’s not the expanded universe stuff that I like, it’s literally just the, like, one scene per movie in the original trilogy?  I mean, if you’ve read literally *any* other Wedge review here on the site, you probably do, because I apparently feel the need to start the reviews of him all the same way.  Look, 4000 reviews and you’re bound to repeat yourself a bit, right?  Well, anyway, despite his presence in all three of the original movies, Wedge is notably absent from Kenner’s original vintage run, which has been a pretty notable omission all that time.  But, with all these throwback retro figures floating around these days, it’s the perfect time to make up for that omission, right?  Right!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wedge Antilles is part of the 2026 Star Wars Retro Collection exclusive 6-pack. They’re the only six figures for the line this year, sold as one large package, much like last year, rather than as a proper assortment of individual figures (though the figures are still individually packaged within the set).  All of the figures are A New Hope-based this time around, though technically Wedge could also work as a Jedi figure, since his look is the same between them.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is all-new, and not directly patterned on any vintage figure molds.  It’s honestly kind of interesting that there’s not even a little bit of detail borrowing from the vintage Pilot Luke figure.  Instead, we’re starting from scratch and…it’s kind of a mixed bag?  Like, I think the weird part is he feels maybe a bit too good to really feel like a vintage Kenner figure.  The folds and hang of his outfit are just a little too natural, and the details are just a little too accurate.  He’s got gloves, which Pilot Luke didn’t, but I’m willing to let that slide, because it’s the kind of shift I can see happening later in the line.  But beyond that, there are small details, like the strap on the back of his vest, or the pockets on his arms, which probably shouldn’t be there.  But, then other parts, like his head that’s just a little bit too small to allow for the helmet, which feel pretty close.  The paint kind of continues the trend set by the sculpt, where it’s just a touch too good, and too accurate.  The biggest thing that throws me is the presence of the grey detailing, since the vintage one just sort of split the difference with the black and white details.  It feels a bit more in line with PotF2, which is obviously not *quite* the vibe they’re going for.  But, it’s not actually bad, so I’ll at least give it that.  Wedge is packed with his helmet and a blaster.  Both are new molds, and they’re pretty fun.  The helmet’s too big, but in the right way.  The blaster could have just been a re-use, but it’s a new Han-style blaster, which I really dig.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I sure do love Wedge figures, and I spent a good amount of time sort of pretending Pilot Luke was Wedge for the purposes of my vintage collection.  With all the Retro Collection figures, I was sort of hoping maybe we might see him, but the focus always seemed to be elsewhere.  I was excited when he was finally shown off, but less excited about him being in a boxed set exclusive to a place I don’t shop.  I’ve been sort of keeping my eye on second hand sources for just Wedge, and happened upon one for a good price, so I jumped on it.  He’s not perfect, but in the sort of way where he’s too close to perfect, if that makes sense?  Ultimately, though it’s a cool Wedge figure, and that’s what I wanted, so I’m happy.

#4111: Scout Trooper – Imperial Patrol

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

SCOUT TROOPER — IMPERIAL PATROL

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI/SAGA (HASBRO)

“Although lightly armored, Imperial scout troopers are essentially highly mobile stormtroopers. They patrol perimeters, perform reconnaissance missions, and scout enemy locations. They are equipped for high maneuverability and long periods without support.”

Hasbro’s Power of the Jedi line, more than being its own standalone line, was more than anything about wrapping up loose ends before moving onto the next thing.  In addition to serving as a way to release the last of the Episode I product, they also added a few new items to the Power of the Force stylings, with some OT characters that didn’t quite get proper coverage earlier.  While all of the environment-specific Imperial troops got some degree of coverage in PotF2, the Scout Trooper notably only got a vehicle pack-in release, and a kind of wonky one at that.  Power of the Jedi offered up one that served as a slightly more conventional figure, and I’m looking at that one today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Scout Trooper — Imperial Patrol was released in Star Wars: Power of the Jedi’s first year, in 2000.  There were two versions of the figure available, clean and dirty.  The dirty version, seen here, was re-released in 2002 with a bunch of new accessories as part of the Saga line’s “Endor Victory” accessory set.  The core figure is effectively the same, though the pelvis piece is reversed on the second release.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  In contrast to the vehicle pack-in figure, which was specifically built to ride the speeder bike, this one is specifically built to stand around, which he does pretty well.  He’s got some minor pre-posing, mostly limited to the arms, but the articulation all has decent clearance, and he can do some nice basic posing.  It’s interesting to be getting such a basic articulation set-up this late in the game, but as mentioned in the intro, there was definitely some attempt to close out the PotF style a little bit.  The actual detailing on the sculpt is quite nicely handled.  His proportions aren’t anything crazy (though his head’s arguably a little small and his hands are a little big) and his uniform is rather well detailed, and accurate to the source.  It’s not hyper detailed, but there’s plenty to keep the sculpt from getting boring.  The color work starts out with some pretty basic black and white, but adds some dirt and battle scarring on the top of it.  It’s a touch heavy-handed in some spots, but it generally works okay.  I definitely like the boots best of all.  The Scout Trooper is packed with his blaster pistol, which he can hold or store in his ankle holster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never actually got a chance to pick up the original Power of the Jedi release of this guy, but in 2002 I was in prime buying so much Star Wars product mode, and ended up snagging the accessory set release.  Over the years, I’ve lost pretty much all of the accessory set parts, but I managed to hang on to at least the main figure.  He’s basic, but fun, and pretty well up my alley in terms of how I like my Star Wars figures.

#4107: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Jedi Training Gear

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JEDI TRAINING GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Knight training under Jedi Master Qui-Gin Jinn, has proved his loyalty to the Council and Jedi code time and time again. In missions involving great danger, the Jedi don specially made training gear that protects them in close combat without hindering their movement.”

I started my return to Power of the Jedi with one of the two concept Obi-Wan figures from the line, and after a quick stop off with a wacky sort of Darth Vader, let’s head back to the Obi-Wan concept well for another one.  This time, less environment specific and more…um, like, merchandise specific?  They wanted a different color palette, I guess? Well, anyway, here’s Jedi Training Gear Obi-Wan.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Jedi Training Gear was released in the second year of Star Wars: Power of the Jedi in 2001.  He’s the second of the two concept Obi-Wans that year.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  It’s sort of an odd articulation set-up, because he’s got wrist swivels on both arms, but an elbow swivel only on the left arm.  This is coupled with a really quite strange pose for the body.  Like, he’s got…something going on, but I’m not entirely sure what.  Parts feel like they’re meant to be sort of loose, while other parts are really stiff and rigid.  He feels like his pose was designed by committee.  His actual design is interesting, mostly in the sense that there was also a Jedi Training Gear Qui-Gon Jinn that year, and the two don’t really share much in terms of design aesthetic, so they don’t really work as a pair, despite what the names might imply.  Beyond that, it’s an okay design, with a bit of OT stylings with the ribbing on the jumpsuit underneath and all.  Obi-Wan’s head sculpt is yet another variation.  This one’s…fine.  Not the strongest, but I guess not the worst either.  He looks a little…pudgy?  I don’t know, maybe it’s just how stiff the posing is.  The color work on Obi-Wan is heavy on the black shades, because we sure do love putting a Jedi in all black.  This one has some variation, though, with different parts getting different shades and finishes.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber (without the black detailing on the hilt, much like the Cold Weather Gear) and his training helmet.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had the Cold Weather Gear figure as a kid, but somehow I missed this one.  I remember the Qui-Gon variant, and kind of wanting an Obi-Wan to match, but I don’t think I remember seeing this one new at retail.  I do remember seeing him later on, but by that point I’d moved away from Power of the Jedi.  As with Jedi Knight Obi-Wan, post-Power of the Force, I’ve found myself looking at some of the other spots from the era, and decided to work a bit on my McGreggor Obi-Wans, and happened upon this guy at Yesterday’s Fun while vacationing this year.  He’s odd and quirky, and not as strong as the Cold Weather Gear, but he’s nothing if not unique.

#4103: Darth Vader – Dagobah

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

DARTH VADER — DAGOBAH

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“Taking the form of Darth Vader , the Dark Lord of the Sith, this spirit is the embodiment of the dark side of the Force. It dwells in a cave on the swamp-covered planet of Dagobah. Although defeated by Luke Skywalker in combat, its unmasked face revealed that Luke has yet to master the ways of the Force and become a Jedi.”

One of the aims of Power of the Jedi was to reintegrate the Original Trilogy characters into the main Star Wars line, to assuage retailers after the concerns surrounding the unsold Episode I product.  In some ways, it feels like a continuation of Power of the Force, but it also leans into a concept not quite as explored in PotF: scene specific variants.  They went to the scene specific well twice for franchise icon Darth Vader, and I’m looking at the first of those two instances today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Darth Vader — Dagobah was released in 2000 as part of the first year of Star Wars: Power of the Jedi.  Though listed as a Vader variant, he’s not technically one, since he’s a figure of the spirit Luke sees in the cave on Dahobah, and is therefore not the actual guy.  But, he’s good enough for the toy company to count him.  The figure stands a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  Though he he feels quite similar to the later run PotF Vader figures, this one had an all-new sculpt, which, as far as I know, remained unique to this release.  It’s slightly more on the pre-posed side, dialing more into the specific shots we see of the spirit in its one scene.  He’s made for holding his lightsaber and standing there with a bit of menace, which he does rather well.  He’s still got a bit of residual bulk from Power of the Force, but nothing crazy.  The actual detailing is all pretty sharp, and they do a good job with his costume details, and the elements specific to the Empire design.  To fully replicate the scene, the figure’s faceplate is removable (a feature that’s surprisingly well hidden), showing Luke’s face beneath.  You can also remove the figure’s head, through use of a kind of rudimentary peg.  He was originally supposed to use a magnet to attach the head, but that was deemed too involved for the line, and delayed until Saga came along.  The figure’s color work aids in the “spirit” vibe, with a slight translucent feature to it, most visible on the cape and cloak.  Vader is packed with his lightsaber, which notably gets actual detailing on the hilt, in contrast to the Power of the Force figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember seeing pictures of this figure when the line was running, and I was always fascinated by the look with the Luke face.  But, because he was packaged with the faceplate on, I didn’t ever realize which Vader he actually was.  It wouldn’t be until much later on that I realized how it worked, at which point I reaffirmed my search, tracking one down a few years back through Yesterday’s Fun, during one of my many family vacations in the area.  He’s a nifty little variant, and really the best way to recreate a rather memorable scene from the movies.

#4099: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Cold Weather Gear

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — COLD WEATHER GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“A Jedi must always be well equipped for any circumstance. Obi-Wan Kenobi, a loyal and disciplined Jedi, is often sent by the Jedi Council to resolve matters on worlds where the environment is very cold. He often must prepare for these missions by bringing special gear with him to handle the colder temperatures.”

With my review of IG-11 last week, I’ve once again exhausted my new Star Wars merch, so it’s time to go back to the retro stuff.  With my meager Episode I collection wrapped up, I’m moving onto that which follows, Power of the Jedi.  The diminishing returns of the Episode I line at retail led Hasbro to rework it into a more franchise comprehensive line, more in the mold of the just wrapped up Power of the Force.  In addition to putting out the handful of remaining Episode I toys, the new line offered up some Original Trilogy stuff, and also a handful of early stage concept figures from the Episode I production process.  A few of the heavy hitters got some variants this way, especially Obi-Wan, whose Cold Weather variant I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Cold Weather Gear was released during Star Wars: Power of the Jedi’s second year in 2001.  He’s one of two Obi-Wan concept variants from that year.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Obi-Wan was sporting an all-new sculpt for his all-new cold weather gear design.  The gear design is pretty consistent with the other looks we’ve seen in Star Wars, bringing to mind the Hoth looks for sure.  The sculpt captures it well, with minimal pre-posing, and an extensive level of detailing that’s all pretty sharp.  The design’s a little limiting on the movement front, especially on the hips, but it’s not as bas as some.  The head sculpt is, to my eyes, the strongest McGregor likeness of the ’99-’01 run, generally just hitting the mark a bit better than the others.  It lacks the Padawan braid and the rat tail is pressed into the head, rather than sticking out, making him far less prone to breaking as well.  His color work brings to mind Han’s Hoth Gear, or the toy version at least, which is a decent set-up.  It’s always nice to see a little bit of blue on a Star Wars figure, especially in this era.  Obi-Wan was packed with a lightsaber, removable cap with goggles, and a survival pack.  The lightsaber is notably missing the black detailing on the hilt, which is a bit of a step down.  The paint on the visor of the goggles is also quite prone to rubbing off, due to the soft rubber construction, but it’s otherwise a very cool piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m fairly certain this was my first Power of the Jedi figure.  I’d seen a fair number of figures from the line, but I remember this guy showing up in ToyFare, and thinking he looked super cool, so I kept my eye out for him.  He was ultimately a comic book store purchase, if I recall, probably Comics to Astonish, which tended to have the best off the beaten path selection of newer Star Wars figures at the time.  I’ve always really liked this one, and time hasn’t really changed that.  He’s quite a fun variant.

#4095: IG-11 — Nevarro Marshall

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

IG-11 — NEVARRO MARSHALL

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“The blasted fragments of the assassin droid hero undergo a complete rebuild and reprogramming, including the addition of marshal stripes that denote IG-11 as Nevarro’s new protector.”

Two Star Wars: The Black Series Reviews? In the same quarter? Is that legal?  Well, yeah.  But is it ethical? That’s a far more complex issue.  So, it would seem I’ve exhausted my admittedly kind of small Episode I collection, which means it’s time to move onto the next thing.  But, before I do another retro dive, I happen to have a new Star Wars figure, so why not give that a bit of focus?  With the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu, the whole Mandalorian side of the franchise is getting a little bit more focus from the toys, mostly based on the movie, but with a few non-movie ones as well.  The Mandalorian’s third season was kind of sparse on its own toy coverage at the time of release, but there’s been some filling in since then, and we’ve finally gotten my most anticipated figure from the season, the rebuilt IG-11 as Marshall of Nevarro!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

IG-11 — Navarro Marshall is figure 46 in the Mandalorian sub-line of Phase IV of Star Wars: The Black Series.  He’s hitting alongside the second batch of Mandalorian & Grogu product, and is the only show-based figure in the bunch.  There was a white-boxed “First Edition” release to kick things off, followed quite closely by the standard release.  As the name implies, the figure is based on IG-11’s slightly modified appearance from the end of Season 3’s last episode.  The figure stands 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  While the last two IG-11s re-used the quite inaccurate IG-88 mold, this time around, he’s making liberal re-use of the brand-new parts introduced with the deluxe IG-12 in 2024.  The 12 parts were far better scaled and just more screen accurate then the 88 mold, so it’s a much better starting point, for sure.  This release gets a new torso, to showcase his proper droid-ness, as opposed to the remote control compartment of 12.  While I won’t deny it looks the part, I was disappointed by the removal of the built-in hinge joint used on the original IG-88 mold.  It gave him a lot more posing options, and this figure is a lot stiffer by comparison.  It does otherwise look very nice, though, and the detailing is all quite sharp.  He also gets a new belt add-on piece, complete with holster, as seen in the show.  IG-12’s color work was rather on the basic side, and while Marshall IG-11 isn’t quite back to the level of his original release in terms of accenting, he’s at least a bit of an improvement over 12.  In particular, his silver is a more consistent and more proper metallic finish, as opposed to the swirly, kind of translucent shade of the IG-12.  He also gets all of the fancy, eye-catching Marshal stripes, which gives him a nice splash of color, and his paint application is notably pretty clean.  IG-11 is packed with his blaster pistol, which fits in his holster.  You can sort of get him to hold it in one of the hands, but it’s really tricky, and doesn’t stay well, so it’s not super advisable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been anticipating this figure pretty much since the show appearance, but especially since IG-12’s release, since I figured Hasbro would be eager to re-use the molds.  I believe I said at the end of the IG-12 mold that I’d kill for this figure, though I did re-negotiate a bit on it before the end.  I did say I’d pay good money for it, which I did, in fact, do.  12 was cool, but he was really always just a place-holder for this guy.  He took a bit longer to get here than I expected, but I’m glad he’s here.  Issues with the torso articulation aside, I really quite like this mold, and I’d still definitely buy at least an IG-88 built from these parts.

#4091: Obi-Wan Kenboi – Jedi Knight

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JEDI KNIGHT

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

“As the invasion of Naboo rages outside, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi battles the evil Sith Lord, Darth Maul, in a fierce lightsaber duel. The outcome could change the galaxy forever!”

It’s a bit like a game of ping-pong with the Star Wars: Episode I figures, right?  Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon.  And just like that, we’re back to Obi-Wan!  Can you believe there’s another Obi-Wan? Well, probably, because you saw the title, and then the photo, and now you’ve read his bio and also my opening remarks about him, which all adds up to another Obi-Wan.  So, here we go, looking at another Obi-Wan!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Jedi Knight is a 2000 release for Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I line, part of an assortment meant to coincide with the film’s home video release.  The aim was to re-introduce some main looks, so that’s really what he does.  He’s another basic Obi-Wan.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Though the prior year had granted the Jedi characters extra movement, the second year of the line returned to the basic set-up used in Power of the Force.  It’s not amazing or anything, but it’s fine.  The sculpt was all-new, and would more or less remain unique.  It’s different from the others.  Arguably, it’s a bit better, at least in some sense.  It’s a more standard pose, and it goes for a mixed media approach, with a cloth skirt piece to his tunic, as well as an actual braid piece.  His head sculpt is notably a closer match to McGregor than the earlier offerings, and it’s aided by not having the weird plastic braid blocking his articulation or being at risk of breakage.  The sculpt is otherwise kind of basic, but does what it needs to.  His color work isn’t too involved, but works well enough.  The colors match the earlier figures well, and the application is all pretty clean.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber, communicator, and a CommTech stand, which, rather amusingly describes him as “Jedi Padawan,” in contrast with the figure’s title.  I don’t believe we’d gotten the communicator before, so it’s a neat extra.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In 2000, I already had three Obi-Wans from Phantom Menace, and I don’t think there was any way I was convincing my parents to buy me a fourth, even if I knew it existed at the time, which, admittedly, I didn’t.  I’ve only come to know about this one in more recent years, and I didn’t exactly jump on it.  But, with Power of the Force wrapped up, and me jumping back into what I owned of Episode I, I felt a little twinge of a need to have all the standard Episode I Obi-Wans, and this one was pretty easy for me to snag from Yesterday’s Fun while I was on vacation this year with my family.  He’s not anything particularly crazy or notable, but he’s intriguing from a progression of the line sort of perspective.

#4087: Qui-Gon Jinn — Jedi Duel

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

QUI-GON JINN — JEDI DUEL

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

“A wise and powerful Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn discovers young Anakin Skywalker, proving to be a pivotal event to the future of the Jedi and to the entire galaxy for generations to come.”

Hey, remember last week when I said my Episode I collection was just Obi-Wans and Qui-Gons?  Well, I wasn’t lying. I wouldn’t do that to you, dear reader.  No, I believe in always telling the truth.  Unless a lie is funnier.  Then I might lie.  But is only having a collection of Obi-Wans and Qui-Gons from Episode I all that funny?  I don’t think so, so it’s probably not worth lying about.  Are you all keeping up with me on this?  If I’m honest, I’m mostly just monologuing a bit here so that I don’t have to come up with anything else to say in this intro.  Here’s Qui-Gon!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Qui-Gon Jinn — Jedi Duel was released in the big initial product launch for Star Wars: Episode I from Hasbro in 1999.  He was the standard Qui-Gon, meant to pair off with the “Jedi Duel” Obi-Wan for the purposes of facing off against the “Jedi Duel” Darth Maul.  It’s all nice and tidy that way.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  Like the Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon had additional movement at the elbows and wrists, allowing for better holding of his lightsaber, thereby better fitting the whole “Jedi Duel” thing.  His sculpt was unique, though similar in style to the Obi-Wan figure.  He’s maybe a bit stiff in terms of posing and how the outfit hangs, but it’s not awful.  His head looks like Qui-Gon the character, I guess, but not very much like Liam Neeson the actor; he just seems to lack Neeson’s more unique features, resulting in a far more generic sculpt that seems to rely more on the hair and beard to sell the character.  The hair hangs slightly over the shoulders, which restricts the neck movement a bit, and the lower portion of his tunic likewise restricts the hips, but he’s otherwise decently posable, which is nice for a figure of this era.  His paint work is very similar to the deluxe version I looked at two weeks ago, at least in terms of colors and general layout.  Once more, the hair and beard get a bit of grey accenting, which makes things just the slightest bit more realistic.  Qui-Gon is packed with his lightsaber and a CommTech display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in my last Qui-Gon review, the deluxe was my original Qui-Gon, and this one followed shortly after, but I’d already gotten attached to the first one, and so this one was never as much of an interest for me.  I suppose he’s a better figure from a technical standpoint, but I can’t say he really does much for me that the other one doesn’t, and I still feel like the sculpt on the other one looks more like Qui-Gon.  But, as far as basic figures go, this one checks all the boxes and is far from a bad figure.