Tag Archives: Star Wars

#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.

#4063: Mace Windu

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

MACE WINDU

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“In the days before Palpatine’s Empire began its reign of terror, the Galactic Republic governed the affairs of the galaxy from the capital of Couruscant. In addition, the city-planet was also the seat of the legendary 12-member Jedi Council. Wisdom and experience were equally as important as abilities in the Force among the Jedi Council members. For this reason, Mace Windu, a senior member of the Jedi Council, was especially honored and revered throughout the Galactic Republic.”

Hey, remember last week, when I discussed the “Sneak Preview” offerings from Power of the Force to give people a taste of the then-upcoming Episode I line?  Well, there were two items offered.  The STAP and Battle Droid were offered up at standard retail, but promoted on the back of the box and available via a mail-away promotion was Samuel L Jackson’s senior Jedi Council member himself, Mace Windu!  Yes, this is from the before movie times when we were all like “this Mace Windu guy is clearly gonna *do stuff* in this movie” rather than “wow, that Mace Windu guy really didn’t *do anything* in that movie.”  Look, whatever the case, let’s look at the novelty that is the very first Mace Windu action figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mace Windu was offered up as a mail-away promotion for Star Wars: Power of the Force II in 1998.  He required a whopping six proofs of purchase from standard figures, largely because he was really operating as a covert way of clearing excess stock off of retail shelves in preparation of all that hot new Episode I product that was definitely going to be a long-term investment, right?  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Mace was sporting what was an all-new sculpt at the time, though he wound up sharing his head, torso, and legs with the standard Episode I Mace.  This one was unique in offering up Mace just sort of casually wearing his robe, rather than with the hood up, or without the robe entirely, which makes it a nice sort of straight forward figure.  The head has a serviceable likeness of Jackson, given it’s the only one before they started scanning likenesses with the Attack of the Clones figures.  It’s got a nice, neutral expression, which fits Mace pretty well.  The body sculpt gets a surprising amount of texture detailing, which works really well to sell all the different fabrics.  The sculpted outer robe is similar to that of the Flashback Anakin figure, though it’s distinctly different.  His paint work is decent, mostly just base work, but it’s clean.  He does get the tiniest little bit of mud splatter on his boots, which is actually a pretty cool touch.  Mace is packed with a lightsaber.  It’s hard to call it *his* lightsaber, since it’s very much blue, but that was the case for all his Episode I merch, since it was supposed to be that color, before Jackson requested a different color in Attack so that he could more easily find himself in fight scenes.  Since Mace never powers up his saber in Phantom Menace, maybe it was just a different color then?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly don’t recall this promotion at all, which is strange, since I was very much collecting the line at the time.  I vaguely recall the final figure, mostly seen at toy shows and comic shops around the time, always for far more than a seven-year-old would be looking to pay.  For whatever reason, even later, I just never got one, perhaps because he quickly became comically cheap.  As it stands, Mace gets the significance of being the very final Power of the Force figure I needed to round out my full run of all the figures.  Not on purpose or anything, mostly just because he happened to be the last one.  He’s also the last one I’m reviewing here on the site.  He’s a fitting, I suppose, as something of a transitional figure.  And, after almost exactly 30 years, my Power of the Force collection that started with a comedically muscled Dagobah Fatigues Luke is complete. Weird.

#4059: STAP & Battle Droid

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

STAP & BATTLE DROID

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“The STAP is a small, one-pilot, repulsorlift vehicle outfitted with two laser cannons. It is extremely maneuvarable, making perfect for patrol, reconnaissance and battle. STAPs are operated by battle droids who function as the infantry of the Trade Federation army.”

In 1998, the world anticipated the first film in the long-anticipated Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Kenner (or rather Hasbro, who owned Kenner and were preparing to move operations in house and dissolve the Kenner brand), then quite deep into Power of the Force II, a decidedly OT-based line, was working on a dedicated line of figures for this as of yet unnamed Star Wars: Episode I, but before getting there, they injected a little bit of product into the currently running line.  In what became a standard practice for the Prequel era, a small selection of “Sneak Preview” items were dropped in advance, in order to help drum up interest.  For Episode I, the focus at retail was on a single item, a small vehicle and pack-in figure in the form of the STAP and Battle Droid, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

The STAP and Battle Droid were a standalone “Sneak Preview” release from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II.  The set was dropped with a decent amount of fanfare (including an honest to god TV commercial) in 1998.  It’s a uniquely sized item for the line, not really occupying the same footprint as other small vehicle and rider set-ups from PotF.  It was definitely built more for display in package, which does me zero good, since I totally ripped that sucker open!

The Single Trooper Aerial Platform, or STAP, was a pretty solid choice for the first official prequel offering, since they remained a recurring element pretty much all the way through the end of Clone Wars.  This one was obviously an all-new mold at the time, but would see quite a bit of re-use over the years, again, up through Clone Wars.  It’s not hard to see why; it’s pretty accurate to the source material, fairly sturdy, and even has a pretty cool flight stand.  There’s a feature where the missiles launch when you push up on the foot plate, which is gimmicky, but still pretty fun.  The color work is pretty respectable, matching the movie’s tones pretty closely, and also offering up a nice amount of accenting, wear, and texturing.

Our first trooper from the new movies was the Battle Droid.  We got a whole lot of them over the years, but this one was the first, and he was designed specifically with the STAP in mind.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Since he was specifically designed to pilot, that means he actually gets working knee and elbow joints, which are surprisingly uncommon for small scale Battle Droids, given how easily they work into the design.  That said, he’s really not designed for standing on his own; his ankles are tilted back, and his toes are pointed inward, which makes him a bit precarious.  Also, his shoulder and elbow joints are very loose, in order to not hinder the action features on the STAP, so he just sort of flings them about when he’s not on the vehicle.  It’s kinda goofy.  He’s just a basic Battle Droid, with no command markings.  He’s got some shading, as well as a little bit of “wear,” and looks pretty much like all the other Droids from the movie, which is hardly a bad thing.  As essentially an accessory to the vehicle, he works well to do what he needs to.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t recall *exactly* when I got this one, largely because it’s an exceedingly common piece.  A lot of speculators bought it, and pretty much no one opened it, so it’s everywhere.  It got traded in at work, like, a lot, so I had my pick of offerings.  One of the times it came in, I decided that was specifically the time, and thus, one came home with me.  You know, and then it sat, sealed, on my shelf, for a few years.  Yeah.  Look, I finally got to it, and that’s the most important thing, right?  Right.  I do like this set.  It’s basic and there’s some definite gimmicks, but I think it did a good job of selling hype for the movie, and it’s a pretty nice little piece.  If you want a neat little Battle Droid toy, you can’t really go wrong with this one.  And, thus, for the last time, I feel like I put off opening a Power of the Force figure for longer than I should have, because, at their heart, they really were pretty fun, right?

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.

#4051: Tattooine with Luke Skywalker

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

TATTOOINE with LUKE SKYWALKER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Far from the center of the galaxy lies the twin-sunned, desert planet Tatooine, homeworld of Rebel Alliance hero Luke Skywalker. Geographically, the rocky Jundland Wastes span a vast area of the planet and include sights such as the Dune Sea and craggy Beggar’s Canyon, where the young Skywalker maneuvered his T-16 skyhopper.  Tatooine’s native lifeforms include the peaceful, droid-scavenging Jawas; the nomadic and aggressive Tusken Raiders; and various creatures including womp rats, banthas, and the enormous krayt dragon.  One of Tatooine’s most menacing lifeforms lies hidden within the Great pit of Carkoon, in the heart of the Western Dune Sea. The Sarlacc is an omnivorous beast that anchors itself at the bottom of the pit, using its tentacles to trap unfortunate prey and digest them over the span of a thousand years.

Tatooine’s remote location makes it an ideal refuge for some of the galaxy’s most notorious criminals, mercenaries and bounty hunters. The most infamous of this questionable population, crime lord Jabba the Hutt, keeps residence in his palace here, presiding over his far-reaching operations from within its fortress-like walls.”

As I make my way through my last handful of Power of the Force reviews, I’m finishing off a lot of the various sub-lines and sets.  Last week, I wrapped up the creature sets, and before that I did the whole run of Millennium Minted Coins, and before that the vehicle pack-ins, and before that the singles.  Today, I close out the last of the sub-sets, Complete Galaxy, part of Kenner’s great experiment in “how much crap can we get people to buy for a pack-in figure?”  The answer was, apparently, not a weird globe thing, because the line wasn’t really much of a success, but there were four of them, and I reviewed three of those, so, here’s the last one!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

Tattooine with Luke Skywalker is the final of the four “Complete Galaxy” sets added to Star Wars: Power of the Force II in 1998.  This set’s based on Return of the Jedi, specifically the sequence on the skiff above the Sarlacc pit.  We get the globe thing that all the sets have, this time based on Tattooine.  They do their best to make the exterior more than just a tan ball, with some variations and the labelled spots on the map like the other three.  It sits a bit better on the base than the Endor set, but not quite as securely as the other two.  The interior gives us a section of the Pit of Carkoon scene, with part of the the skiff, with the plank extended, and the Sarlacc visible on the lower section.  The Sarlacc even gets articulation and everything, which is honestly really cool.  It’s not as ambitious as the Endor set, but that gives it a more easily attainable mark, and that makes it ultimately more successful.

This set’s included Luke Skywalker is one of three nearly identical figures from around the same time, all based on his vested Jedi look from the beginning of the movie.  They’re all different enough to be different, but not much beyond that.  The figure is about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation, with the standard 6 points for the line, plus a swivel on the right wrist.  There’s a lot of parts sharing between the various Jedi Lukes, and the only truly unique pieces to this one are the legs.  Ultimately, I think this is probably my favorite assembly of all the Jedi Lukes, so I’m a fan.  The paint work is pretty much on par with the other variations of this design.  The only notably different thing is that the hair’s a bit darker than the other releases.  It’s not a major shift, but you can see it.  Luke includes his Jedi green lightsaber, which he can hold in either of his hands, but not both.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve had this set on my watchlist for a while, and was honestly kind of waiting for one to land in front of me, but it never did, and suddenly it was one of the last pieces I needed from the line, so I just finally jumped on one from eBay.  The Complete Galaxy sets have been kind of middling at best, and I’ve messed with the very similar Luke figures, so I wasn’t exactly expecting much.  That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  Though the changes to Luke are minor, I think they overall work a bit better.  The Tattooine set is honestly he coolest of the four globes, working a bit more effectively, and giving us the Sarlacc, which feels like it justifies the set’s existence a bit more.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0074: Speeder Bike (w/ Luke Skywalker in Endor Gear)

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

SPEEDER BIKE (W/ LUKE SKYWALKER IN ENDOR GEAR)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Well, it’s Friday again, guys.  We made it.  It’s here, and the week is over.  Yay?  Yeah, let’s go with yay.  And what am I doing?  I’m talking about Star Wars.  It’s what I do in times of trouble.  Or just times, really.  Kind of a background noise.  Anyway, here’s a return look at Luke Skywalker and a Speeder Bike!

A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at the first of three versions of the Imperial Speeder Bike released by Kenner in their Power of the Force II line. The vehicle’s mold was first introduced in the vintage Return of the Jedi line, and was then re-packaged in the ’90s, with one of three different pilots. I’ve already looked at the one with Leia. Today, I look at her brother Luke, alongside his own Speeder.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

The speeder bikes in these sets were all identical, meaning this one is exactly the same as the one I looked at alongside Leia two weeks ago. I liked it then, and I still like it now. I imagine I’ll still like it when I get around to the third variant of this set.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like the Leia figure included with the last one, this one has an Endor variant of Luke Skywalker. Luke spends a little bit less of his time in this gear, but it’s still a fairly distinctive appearance for the character. Like Leia, it had previously appeared in the vintage line, but this was the first we saw of it in this re-launch. It would also be our only Endor Luke for a little while, as figures of him from Jedi tended to go for his, well, Jedi appearance. As such, this figure’s sculpt would remain completely unique to him. He stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation. Check out those sweet knee joints! That was a pretty huge deal. Luke’s head is rather similar to the Endor Rebel trooper, not only with the same helmet, but also a rather similar facial structure. This Luke’s sculpt was notable for not including his outer vest; he was not the only version of Luke to omit it in this line, but he was the first one. Like his sister, Luke has a removable rubber poncho piece. This one’s not quite as nice. It isn’t very well fitted to the figure, making him look really pudgy. It also lacks the nice, subtle paintwork, meaning it’s just a lot of unpainted tan plastic. This guy was packed with a variant of the green lightsaber included with the basic RotJ Luke, though this one was wider than that one so that his slightly enlarged grip can still hold it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I only had one Speeder Bike, and it was this one. I was definitely a Luke kid, so I needed to have another version of him, and the Endor one was one of my favorites. That being said, I remember the actual figure didn’t get a ton of use; instead he was robbed of his poncho and speeder, which I gave to my standard Jedi Luke. Looking back at this figure, I kind of remember why that was the case. He’s not a bad figure, but he’s not as strong a figure as the Leia. 

Luke and Speeder Bike were my middle review of the three Speeder Bikes, but, as noted in the review, the first of them added to my collection, and the only one I had from the actual run of the line.  I think my review hits pretty much all of the salient points.  I don’t think it’s ultimately as strong a set as the one with Leia, but it’s still a solid little offering.  The only thing I was missing at the time was his oddly fat lightsaber, which I have since replaced.  It’s still real weird looking, but there it is.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0073: Chewbacca

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

CHEWBACCA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Oh-ho-ho, it’s Fridaaaay, you knoooooow!  Would you believe…I’m talking about Star Wars again?  Probably?  I mean it does sort of track, right?  Yeah.  Well, with another week successfully made through, I’m capping things off with a return look at Chewbacca!

“As Han Solo’s partner, Chewbacca the Wookiee (or Chewie, as Solo calls him) distinguished himself as a talented pilot, starship mechanic and smuggler. After being rescued from Imperial slavers by Solo, Chewbacca pledged a life debt to the rogue pilot and followed him to several different planets as their relationship grew and the two became close friends and partners. When Solo acquired the light freighter Millennium Falcon, he and Chewbacca began their career as intergalactic smugglers. Chewbacca’s reputation as a brawler gave him a distinct advantage in shady business negotiations, and it was he who initiated the deal to transport Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker from Tatooine to Alderaan.”

Okay, so here’s something of an odd thing that slipped through the cracks of my review schedule: somehow, in all of the Power of the Force reviews I’ve written here on the site, I’ve managed to leave one single figure from the initial assortment un-reviewed for far longer than I realized. I speak of today’s entry, the line’s first take on Chewbacca, who has thus far escaped my reviewing focus. Not to worry, dear reader, I’ve got him all set for today, so lets take a look at this crazy monkey man who really isn’t a monkey man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chewbacca was, as noted in the intro, part of Kenner’s first 1995 assortment for their revamped Power of the Force line. He joined standard versions of Luke, Han, Leia, R2, C-3PO, Obi-Wan, Vader, Lando, the Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett in bringing Star Wars back to toy shelves for the first time in over a decade. This would mark Chewy’s second time getting a 3 3/4-scale figure, following his old vintage release, placing him in the same category as Vader, the Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett. The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation…technically. There’s a neck joint there, but best of luck really getting any sort of motion out of it. This guy got an all-new sculpt, which would serve as the basis for Chewy’s Shadows of the Empire figure as well. Chewbacca’s vintage sculpt was definitely on the scrawny side of things and…well, this one definitely goes for the other end of the spectrum. Way on the other end of the spectrum. This guy’s like two of the vintage guy. Chewy may have been bigger than the other characters, but he wasn’t a body builder like this one. He falls into a similar category to Vader, who was likewise a little on the small side for his vintage release, and then ballooned way up for his ’95 figure. It’s downright goofy looking, and ends up making Chewy look a lot more simian than he did in the films, especially with that less shaggy, more carefully groomed appearance he’s got. At the very least, the texturing on the fur isn’t too bad, though the bandolier isn’t quite so lucky; it looks stretched to fit Chewy’s new bulk, and ends up missing out on some of the better detail work of later versions. The major details are there, but not much beyond that. Chewbacca’s paintwork is fairly decent, perhaps the best of the initial batch, in fact. He actually gets some nice accenting on his fur to give it its proper variations in color, a definite step up from the vintage counterpart. Chewbacca was packed with both his usual bowcaster and also a more generic and definitely very ’90s gun, just in case one wasn’t enough for him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Part of the reason Chewbacca got overlooked for review is because he kind of got overlooked in my collection, too. As I mentioned in my Bounty Hunter Chewbacca review, that was my standard, and quite frankly, my go-to Chewbacca as a kid. I didn’t actually have a basic Chewy; he was one of the figures that was in the batch of figures my Grandmother had for me and my cousin at her house. It meant I got to play with one, but it wasn’t ultimately mine. When the figures got split up between us, Chewy went with my cousin, and I never thought much about it, having moved onto better Chewbaccas. When filling in my collection, I actually forgot about this figure, until managing to find one loose a couple of Christmases ago while on vacation. I then forgot I had that figure and hadn’t actually reviewed it until I took it down off the shelf for the photo that ended my recent C-3PO review, at which point I got him onto the schedule as soon as I could. And, here we are. He’s not great, or anything. He’s goofy and not very accurate, but also not as fun as the Bounty Hunter Chewy, so he’s just sort of here.

Poor Chewbacca, the overlooked figure.  I actually forgot about that bit, but it’s a late 2020 review, so I’ve forgotten a lot of what I was writing during that stretch of time.  Each addendum from that period’s like a fun little mystery!  Honestly, it’s not a bad review, and I think it tackles the weird, overly simian Chewy from the early line pretty well.  I just looked at the mold again for the coin release and…well, it’s still very goofy.  I mean, I love it, but it’s goofy.  My figure was missing his wonky secondary gun when I first reviewed him, something I’ve since addressed, so here he is in all his two-gun-wielding glory!

#4043: Snowtrooper

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

SNOWTROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Dear readers, we’ve finally arrived, after a seven week stretch, at the end of the Power of the Force coin reviews!  As noted last week, the last few of these are the ones that don’t really have as much in the way of new to offer.  While the seven figure set was heavier weighted on the heroes side, there were two “villains.”  I already looked at Emperor Palpatine, but there was a trooper in the mix, specifically of the Snowtrooper variety.  Why “snow?”  I got no idea, but why question it now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Snowtrooper is the seventh and final figure in the Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” line-up from the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line, released in 1998.  This was the line’s third and final Snowtrooper, following the single and the deluxe.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The Snowtrooper’s sculpt is a straight re-use of the single release mold.  It’s kind of restricted in its movement, but generally a reasonable sculpt.  It’s accurate to the design, if perhaps a bit soft on the detailing.  So, what’s the thing that makes this worthwhile?  The paint, of course!  The original release’s paint was fine, but ultimately inaccurate to the source material.  The deluxe release had a more accurate layout, so this one matches that.  It’s the sort of thing that you aren’t likely to notice on its own, but side by side it’s a notable change-up.  Like the single release, the Snowtrooper is packed with a medium blaster rifle.  He also includes the required Millennium Minted Coin, which rather amusingly refers to him as “Hoth Stormtrooper” so as to keep its accuracy to the vintage release, despite the box calling him “Snowtrooper.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Count this figure as yet another on the pile of “didn’t really think I’d need it” when I started collecting the line, since it’s pretty similar to the others.  I got him because I didn’t have him, but wasn’t expecting much.  So, I gotta say, he’s actually a pleasant surprise.  The new paint’s not drastic, but it’s a change, and it’s ultimately a better figure for it.  Of the three Snowtroopers in the line, this one’s probably my favorite.  And that’s a wrap on the figures with the coins.  This set was one I didn’t think much of when I went in, and I was honestly kind of expecting them to be kind of lame.  While they’re totally a fairly hollow cash-grab, I found it to be a surprisingly nifty set of figures.  The coins are actually cool, and all of the figures do feel at least like a minor step-up from the single releases.

#4039: Bespin Han Solo

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

BESPIN HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

As I make my way through the home stretch of the Power of the Force coin reviews, I’ve officially passed the figures that really offer anything actually new, so, you know, that’ll be a ton of fun, right?  Right.  Since one of the aims of the subset of the line was new variants of the franchise’s heavy hitters, it’s no shock that all three of the central trio were present.  I’ve already looked at two of the three, so today, let’s round out the trio with Han Solo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bespin Han Solo is one of the seven Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” set from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II line, released in 1998.  While Luke and Leia were both sporting their Endor gear from Return of the Jedi, Han breaks up the theme by being based on his main look from Empire, which is a twofer, being from a different movie, and also being his main look, not a specific variant.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s pretty much identical to the main line release of Bespin Han.  Honestly, that’s not awful.  Apart from the fact that the head sculpt doesn’t really look like Han, it’s past the crazy bulky proportions of the earliest sculpts in the line, and generally looks the part.  The only issue with this particular release is that he can’t stand particularly well, so he needs a stand to keep him upright.  Color wise, he’s again pretty much the same as the single release.  Apart from the jacket being the wrong color (a forced error mandated by Lucasfilm’s licensing in the ‘90s), the paint work is pretty well handled, and fairly cleanly applied.  Paint is also the one distinguishing point for Han’s blaster accessory; though totally black in all other releases, this one gets a bit of silver paint at the front, which is a fun change-up.  He also includes the requisite Millennium Minted Coin, as well as a display stand, which is especially helpful, given his troubles with standing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the Chewbacca figure from a few weeks ago, this figure wasn’t really on my list until very late in my Power of the Force collecting, given just how similar he is to both the standard and Cinema Scene releases.  Ultimately, there’s not a ton going on with him that’s not going on elsewhere, but the added paint app on the blaster is honestly a pretty cool thing, even if it’s kind of small.  I do appreciate there being *something* different to justify another purchase if you’re the sort of crazy person buying them all.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0071: Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear

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

LUKE SKYWALKER in HOTH GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

It’s another Friday, and we’re still here…I hope.  It’s…well, sometimes it’s touch and go these days, right?  Well, if you’re reading this than we’ve all made it to the end of the week unscathed.  Yay us!  Go team!  How about a little bit of flashing back to slightly happier times, perhaps?  Yeah, let’s look at this here Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear again!

Doesn’t it feel like I *just* reviewed this figure? Well, I didn’t. Well, I didn’t. Reviewed a very similar figure, of course, because that’s the insanity of toy collecting. But this one’s different, you see. He…ummm….he’s got…goggles? Yeah, let’s go with that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear was released in the 1997 assortment of Power of the Force II figures. We’d had our first taste of Hoth figures the prior year with a Hoth version of Han. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches and he has 6 points of articulation. He’s wearing the same cold-weather gear that we saw him wearing in the two-pack with a Wampa, but this figure depicts him a few moments earlier in the film, prior to the Wampa’s attack. So he still has the goggles, and his face is un-scarred. His sculpt is unique to him (though parts of it would be slightly re-tooled for a few later variants of this same gear), and it’s pretty decent. He’s still a bit puffy and bulked-up, but with the cold-weather gear, that doesn’t feel quite so off. The level of detailing on the outfit is quite sharp, and looks very good for the time, rivaling even more modern offerings. My figure is missing his little head scarf thingy, which was a free-hanging piece that was prone to breaking off. Luke’s paintwork is about what you’d expect. Fairly basic and an overall decent match for what we see on the screen. Application is clean, and there’s pretty much no slop. Hoth Gear Luke was originally packed with his lightsaber and a blaster pistol, but mine has lost them in the years since I got him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember this figure being rather hard to come by, at least initially. Stores still had tons of Hoth Han, and I was constantly having to explain that it wasn’t the same thing. I eventually got him in the Farpoint Dealer’s room the year he was released. If I recall correctly, it was the same dealer from whom I ultimately got my Princess Leia figure, that very same year. It’s been a favorite of mine for a while, even if it is rather environment specific. 

There’s a sort of comedy to me opening the review by noting I *just* reviewed a similar figure, when said “similar figure” was the 2018 ForceLink release from the Solo product launch, and not, you know, either of the two virtually identical Power of the Force Hoth Lukes that I would later review.  Like, I was complaining about similarity, and I hadn’t even scratched the surface.  Otherwise, pretty straight forward review.  At the time, I was missing his blaster and saber, but I’ve since replaced both of those.  His head scarf is still broken, but at least he’s fully armed!