Tag Archives: Star Wars

#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.

#4083: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Naboo

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — NABOO

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

“The young Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his mentor, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, help Queen Amidala and her forces in their attempt to liberate the planet Naboo from the overwhelming onslaught of the Trade Federation.”

On we march with this Phantom Menace—oh, sorry, Episode I thing, apparently.  It does sort of feel like the next natural point after Power of the Force wrapped up, I suppose.  I’ll admit, it’s a bit more of a limited selection as far as my personal collection goes.  Pretty much, it’s Obi-Wans and Qui-Gons.  I knew what I liked as a kid, and it was really those two.  I’ve looked at *most* of my Obi-Wans, but not all of them, so, here’s another one of those.  This time he’s got a robe!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Naboo was part of the second push of product from Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I line, hitting after the movie’s release in 1999.  He was the line’s second main Obi-Wan, following up the Jedi Duel release.  The main difference, as noted above, is robe.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  The Jedi Duel release added elbow and wrist swivels to the articulation set-up, and this one keeps them…on the right arm.  The left is back to just the shoulder.  His sculpt was totally and unique, but certainly had a lot in common with the earlier Obi-Wan.  The heads in particular look like they’re the same general depiction of the same guy, with only minor tweaks in posing.  It’s not a spitting image of Ewan McGregor, but it’s not awful for the scale and the era.  The detailing on the clothing is a bit sharper and refined than the Jedi Duel version, and tops everything off with a rubber robe piece, very similar to that of the mail-away Mace Windu.  It’s got a good flow and hang to it, and while it’s not ideal for posing, it’s not terrible for it either.  His color work is basic, but generally does what it needs to.  Like all of the earlier prequel Obi-Wans, the hair’s a bit darker than it should really be, but otherwise things work out alright.  He’s packed with a lightsaber that’s ignited, a non-ignited hilt, and a CommTech stand.  The non-ignited hilt was a cool extra, since it hadn’t really been done before, and it can even be plugged into his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I, of course, had the first Obi-Wan as soon as possible after seeing the movie, because I just had to.  I was actually so fixated on him having his robe that my mom bought me the Naboo accessory set so that I’d have the robe from that one.  And then, weeks after getting that, I found this guy at the store, and really wanted him, even though I already had a robe for the other one.  Having a Qui-Gon who also needed a robe did at least help me plead my case.  Also, the fact that my basic Obi-Wan’s hair braids at all broke off, so this could be my “standard” Obi-Wan, which he was for quite a stretch of time.  I think he holds up pretty darn well, honestly.

#4079: Qui-Gon Jinn

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

QUI-GON JINN

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

Well, with Power of the Force officially done, and my small handful of actually new Star Wars stuff to review actually burned through, I guess it’s time to move on.  Not from Star Wars, of course.  I’m a toy site.  That would be crazy.  No, move onto the thing that followed (or actually kind of ran a bit in tandem with, I guess) Power of the Force: the Episode I tie-ins!  I’ve reviewed all of two figures from the at the time tie-ins, both of them Obi-Wan, so today I’m jumping over to the other rather important Jedi from the film, Qui-Got Jinn!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Qui-Gon Jinn is one of the three deluxe figures from Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I tie-in line, released alongside similarly deluxe versions of Obi-Wan and Darth Maul.  Like the other two, he consisted of a rather standard core figure, with an action feature activated by a kind of wonky lightsaber hilt-looking thing.  The figure stands just over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  The deluxe figures lacked the wrist and elbow swivels of the standard figures (Obi-Wan kept one of the elbow swivels, but Qui-Gon wasn’t as lucky), and the shoulder movement was restricted by the action feature.  While Obi-Wan’s sculpt wasn’t really all that different from the standard, Qui-Gon’s is actually quite different.  He’s a lot more pre-posed, in sort of a mid-battle set-up, with his hair swept back and his teeth bared.  While it’s a bit more limiting, it’s also a more dynamic, and I feel slightly more exciting sculpt.  It’s not as crazy as some of the Saga figures got, though, and he’s more stable on his feet.  Qui-Gon’s color work is pretty good.  Nothing crazy for the era, with the body work mostly focusing on base color stuff.  The head’s a bit more involved, with the hair getting some grey streaks in it.  Qui-Gon was packed with his standard lightsaber, as well as the larger “control” saber, which clipped around the figure’s waist and could activate the action feature.  As with Obi-Wan, I lost that one at some point, because I was some sort of silly child.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got a fair bit of Episode I related stuff for my birthday the year the movie came out, and I recall this Qui-Gon was amongst the bunch.  He was specifically my first Qui-Gon figure, and I recall being pretty excited to get him.  I got the standard not to long after (I think he may have just been a slightly delayed birthday present, truth be told), but I always liked this one a little bit more.  He’s not exactly a figure with a lot going on, but over 25 years out, I do still quite like him, and he’s probably still my favorite Qui-on figure.

#4075: Colonel Ward

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

COLONEL WARD

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

So, it’s apparently been over a year since I reviewed a standard, not seasonal Black Series figure.  Which is…like, I guess I did sort of move on from the line, huh?  Well, there it is.  After a seven year gap, there’s another Star Wars movie in theaters, with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the conclusion to the show, that’s now on the big screen.  How is it?  Well, it’s a conclusion to the show on the big screen, that’s for sure.  Okay, that sounds like I’m being sort of pithy, but I actually did quite like it.  It’s got some cool set pieces, some cool creatures, and, most importantly, it’s also got Sigourney Weaver, who is also cool.  And certainly cool enough to get an action figure, so let’s check that out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Colonel Ward is he fourth figure in the Mandalorian and Grogu tie-in line-up of Star Wars: The Black Series, shipping as one of the product launch figures for the movie.  Ward is based on her pilot’s gear look from the end of the movie, which has a bit less screen time than her fatigues look from most of the run, but is also a bit more exciting as a figure, so it’s a solid choice.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Thus far, the X-Wing pilots have been pretty consistently using the original Pilot Luke mold from 2013, which is perfectly fine looking, but had a slightly less intuitive articulation than more recent figures, making a little clunky by modern standards.  Ward introduces a new body, which looks rather similar functionally, while working a bit more smoothly.  It remains effectively gender neutral, so I suppose it could be used for an updated Luke as well, should they choose to go that way.  She gets what is bound to remain a unique head sculpt.  It’s a pretty decent match for an older Weaver, with a lot of her signature intensity visible in the facial expression.  The hair isn’t quite as voluminous as Weaver’s in the movie, in order to make it work a bit better with the helmet, but it’s ultimately a good middle ground.  Ward’s color work is heavily reliant on molded colors, with minimal paint, mostly on the face.  While the application that’s there is good, there’s definitely some notable missing spots.  The hair is rather flat, and it’s disappointing that the belt is just an unpainted flat grey.  Like, none of it’s bad from a technical stand point, but it does feel a little underwhelming.  Ward is packed with a removable helmet, which is our third take on the classic Rebel pilot helmet.  This one omits the chin strap, in favor of just the microphone.  It also adds a removable visor to the mix, to make it look like it’s been retracted, which we don’t usually see here.  While the paint on the main figure is just sort of meh, the helmet gets a lot of really neat detailing, which adds a lot of pop to the figure. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m obviously always happy to see Sigourney Weaver show up in, pretty much anything, so I was excited to see her added to the Mandalorian and Grogu cast.  I didn’t really think too much about the toy side of things, and I ended up missing this figure a few times.  We went to see the movie while we were visiting South Carolina as part of a memorial for Jess, and on the way back, we passed the Walmart that I stopped at very many times while living down there with Jess a decade ago, where I got a good number of my Black Series figures from the time, usually on Jess’s urging.  I felt the need to check and see if they might have this figure, and sure enough they did, which was honestly pretty cool.  She’s not a perfect figure, but she’s fun, and I think she’s got a neat novelty to her.  Is it crazy that I’m kind of hoping they decide to do Michael Biehn’s character from The Mandalorian now so that I can have the two Aliens people as Star Wars people?  Is that too much of a reach?

#4071: Clone Captain Rex

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

CLONE CAPTAIN REX

STAR WARS: EPIC WORLD OF ACTION (HASBRO)

“Rex served the Republic on the front lines during the Clone Wars, taking orders from Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano.”

It would seem that after finishing up Power of the Force, my comfort zone for Star Wars reviews is just Captain Rexes.  I didn’t plan it like that, but it sure did end up that way, huh?  My personal favorite parts of the Disney era figure tie-ins were the more basic toyline elements, which were unfortunately dropped after Solo.  Hasbro’s toyed with some other takes on the more all-ages approach to the toys, and the latest is Epic Force, the Star Wars equivalent to the Epic Heroes branding they did for Marvel.  The line started as more of a 5POA thing, but has slightly evolved.  It’s been a rather eclectic selection of characters, and today I’m looking at one of the line’s takes on Captain Rex.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Captain Rex is a 2025 release for Hasbro’s Star Wars: Epic World of Action line, the re-branding of “Epic Force.”  Rex is specifically part of the “Power the Force” (note the lack of “of” there, because it’s important) branding of the line.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation.  While the earlier Epic offerings for Star Wars went back to the 5POA roots, “Power the Force” upgraded most of the figures to the same articulation scheme as the Epic Heroes, and Rex reflects that.  It’s a solid set-up, and while he might benefit from wrist joints, he otherwise covers the bases.  Scaling wise, the line maintains its 4-inch scaling, different from the classic 3 3/4-inch set-up for Star Wars, so he’s a little on the large side, but with the gradual shifting of the main line over time, he’s not actually that out of place.  Design-wise, the figure is based on his realistic Phase I armor, as seen in Ahsoka, which makes a degree of sense, it being his most recent appearance and all.  The sculpt is a solid one, with a decent level of detailing, matching up pretty well with the on-screen look.  It’s clean, well defined, and has a nice solid feel to it.  It also looks sufficiently different from prior figures, giving him a good reason to exist.  I do wish he had trigger fingers on the hands, though.   His paint work is decent, but notably basic and clean for a Rex figure.  I guess, it being a Phase I Rex, he should be a little cleaner, but it does seem a bit more scaled back than even that would explain.  Still, it’s far from bad, and the most important details are all still present.  Rex is packed with a pair of blaster pistols, as he’s prone to do.  In an effort to get into the “Power the Force” gimmick, which largely translates to clear plastic, they’re molded in translucent blue.  Also, one of the two of them has a permanently attached blast effect, which is cool and theory, but becomes a problem when it comes to the sculpted holsters on the figure.  Though both are functional, only one can be used, since the blast effect won’t fit, so, he can’t use it.  It’s an odd choice, for sure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t do a bunch of big box retail shopping these days, so I miss out on a lot of more basic toy releases.  I knew this guy existed, but never put the effort into finding one.  But, it’s a Rex, so if it lands in front of me, I’m gonna want it.  A few weeks ago, I was killing some time walking my daughter around the mall while my wife and son saw a movie, and she wanted to walk through the (apparently no longer a temporary pop-up) Toys “R” Us, and this guy happened to be one of the two Epic figures they had.  Yay, new Rex for me!  He’s neat.  Nothing special or ground breaking, but neat.  I think if they’d included an extra not blasting blaster, he’d be pretty much all you’d need, but even so, he’s a fun little basic figure.

#4067: DJ R-3X

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

DJ R-3X

DROID DEPOT (DISNEY)

“All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. Rex, a former pilot of a Starspeeder 3000 for Star Tours, was recently reprogrammed to be a DJ in Oga’s Cantina. Join DJ R-3X on their adventures throughout the galaxy. May the Force be with you… and your droids!”

The beats are about to get riggity-Rexed!  I’m sorry, was that bad?  Well, I’m standing by it.  While I haven’t discussed the Disney Parks attraction Star Tours much here on the site, I did talk a little bit about it, way back in 2020, when I discussed its original star, pilot droid RX-24, the original “Captain Rex.”  Rex was of course removed from the ride in its 2011 reworking, which made R2-D2 and C-3PO the main focuses of the ride.  Rex was sidelined for the better part of a decade, but finally resurfaced as part of Galaxy’s Edge, now as “DJ R-3X.”  He’s gotten a couple of figures, the latest of which is part of Disney’s in-house parks merch, which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DJ R-3X was a November 2025 offering from Disney’s Droid Depot line, the Parks and website exclusive line which replaced the Droid Factory build-a-droids.  This is Rex’s second figure since he became a DJ, the first being his 2020 Black Series figure (though I guess that was technically released twice.)  The figure stands just over 3 inches tall and he has 18 points of articulation.  He’s actually not much smaller than the Black Series figure, and thus doesn’t really look *drastically* different.  His movement is mostly the same as well, though he’s actually got some extra utility thanks to the headphones and visor’s articulation, which was missing from the Black Series release. I do miss the spinning sections of the torso, and I’ve found that the joints on the arms are a bit looser than I’d like, but overall, he’s got a respectable set-up.  The sculpt is a good match for the prop from the parks, and the detailing is all pretty sharp.  His color work is actually a bit of an improvement over the Hasbro version, which was fine, but certainly more on the basic side of things.  This one, on the other hand, is quite remarkably weathered, which is certainly fitting of the very lived-in aesthetic of Star Wars as a whole, but specifically the Galaxy’s Edge  area.  Like the last Rex, this guy is without accessories, but he’s involved enough on his own that it doesn’t feel so light.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m not much of a Disney parks guy, and in fact hadn’t been to Disney World since going on a trip with my parents back in 2007, meaning the last time I was there, Disney hadn’t yet acquired Star Wars, and therefore didn’t have anything apart from Star Tours for the license.  I hadn’t gotten to see any of the Galaxy’s Edge stuff, including Rex’s revamped placement.  My son Matty turned 10 this year, so for his spring break, we all flew down to Disney, and we got to spend some time in Galaxy’s Edge, which was super fun.  While there, I found this guy, and I absolutely couldn’t pass him up, because, well, it’s Rex.  He’s got some quirks for sure, but I like him for different reasons than the Black Series.  They’re both good for different reasons, though, so I’m glad to have them both.

An Ode To Power of the Force

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

Yesterday, May 28, 2026, I published my very last Power of the Force review.  It was a big moment for me, and in honor of it, I’d like to take a moment today to discuss my journey to this point, both on the site, and somewhat behind the scenes.

On March 26, 2014, I published my first review of a figure from Kenner’s ‘90s Power of the Force line (referred to as “Power of the Force II” or “PotF2” by fans, to differentiate from the shorter-lived line of the same name from the ‘80s).  The subject was Luke Skywalker in Dagobah Fatigues, appropriately enough my very first Star Wars action figure, bought brand new off the shelf in 1996.  My site was less then six months old at the time, and was really just a way of filling time between college classes.  I recall this review specifically was written on an iPad I was *supposed* to be using for notes in my Accounting 101 class, which was particularly boring that night.  At the time, I viewed the whole exercise as more about a quick nostalgic look at a toy from my youth, filling space before I got to some cool new thing that excited me.  I only wrote one more PotF review in that first year, a two-for-one of Jawas, also from my old collection.

The presence of the line here on the site was fairly spotty for the next couple of years, until a need for content to keep up with the daily schedule I was so dead-set on keeping led me to make the line a bi-monthly feature in the spring of 2017.  Even then, I viewed it as a way to clear out my backlog of old figures to review, not really as the beginning of anything significant beyond that.  

When I started working at a toy store in the fall of 2018, it gave me an unprecedented level of access to vintage action figures in general, but especially Power of the Force.  I started with a more general “hey it would be cool to get more characters I don’t own” approach, still not fully plunging into completism just yet.  Early in my time at this job, I had the opportunity to buy *most* of the figures I was missing from the Expanded Universe set, my favorite sub-set of the line.  I was left a single figure shy of the run, and I actually resorted to hunting the last one down, marking the first time I’d done more than just wait for a Power of the Force figure to land in front of me pretty much since the line was new.  Suddenly the dam broke; I’d completed the sub-set and now I felt encouraged to go further.

From that point forward, it became a mission.  I had checklists, and notes on how far I was willing to go with variants.  My boss and co-workers gave me first crack at any ‘90s Star Wars collections that came in, and would even give me a heads up on specific pieces.  At first, I didn’t care too much about completing my originals, but the parts became easy enough to find, adding more to the fun of it all.  I could build elaborate schedules of themes for reviews, balancing and tying in with all sorts of outside elements.  Admittedly, I got overwhelmed by the scale of it a few times, leading to periods of time where I’d have stacks of unopened figures for months, sometimes years (there’s a whole other post rattling around in my brain about the fine line between “collecting” and “hoarding” that may yet surface).  As I pulled more and more of the common figures I needed from collections coming into work, I found myself slowing down significantly.  When I departed my toy store job last summer, I was in need of only 15 pieces to complete my run.

In the last 10 months, I’ve slowly worked my way to completing the run, while also cracking open the stuff I’d already bought, and cleaning up and re-completing old figures for some addendums.  It’s been an interesting experience working my way up to this point, especially as things near the end.  There was a bit of a middle-of-the-journey slump, where I got stuck reviewing the less exciting figures, with some I’m sure less exciting reviews.  But, especially as I’ve come closer to the end, I’ve found myself reveling in some of the quirks, and even finding some gems that I honestly didn’t expect to like as much as I did.  The end has brought me the same spark of excitement that I had in the fall of 2018, when I first tapped back into the line as a proper collection.  In the middle, I don’t know that I was really expecting that.  There have been a few times where I came very close to giving up on the goal, but I’ve managed to pull through it, and at the end of it, I can say I’m honestly glad I did.

Is Power of the Force the greatest Star Wars line?  Well, I don’t know exactly how you quantify that, but regardless, the answer is “probably not.”  It’s got one heck of a learning curve on it, and some of the craziest “you had to be there” choices you can imagine.  There’s a definite glut of just kind of middling product, where you can just absolutely see them trying to see what sticks, but at the core of it all, it’s just so frequently unapologetic that it’s supposed to be a toyline for actually playing with, meaning even a “boring” or “middling” entry is still a good offering in terms of just being a good, core action figure.  As some crazy valuable investment or high end collector’s line, it absolutely fails.  But, that’s also not at all what it was meant to be, whether the collectors of the time got that or not.  And as someone who was actually a kid when it started and got to experience it the way lots of fans experienced the original vintage line?  Boy, do I just love it.  What a fantastic 30 years of collecting this has been.