Tag Archives: Star Wars

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0019: Han Solo

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

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES ARCHIVE (HASBRO)

Check this out!  Doing three whole Flashback Friday Figure Addendums in one year!  I haven’t actually done that since I launched them in 2017.  Weird.  It’s once again a Black Series figure that’s getting the treatment, thanks to Hasbro going back and redoing a lot of the pre-face-printing figures with the appropriate upgrades.  The last few I’ve looked at have been from the main line, but today I’m switching over to their Archive line, with my first Archive figure that I actually got the first time around.  So, let’s look at The Force Awakens Han Solo, whose original release I looked at back in March of 2016.

A lot of (very much deserved) praise has been heaped on the new cast members introduced in the Force Awakens, but one of the coolest things about the movie was the return of some of the “old guard” from the Original Trilogy. The most prominent returning hero by far was everyone’s favorite scuffy-lookin’ nerf-herder, Han Solo. For a number of reasons, Han, along with most of the other returning characters, was absent from the first few waves of Force Awakens product, but the merch based on him is starting to hit in full storm. Today, I’ll be looking at his much anticipated Black Series figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han was released in the fifth series of the latest iteration of Star Wars: The Black Series. He’s marked as number 18 in the line, which makes him the last figure in this particular series numerically. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall (which is the same as his A New Hope figure) and has 27 points of articulation. Some of the movement, most notably his hips, is a little restricted, but he can certainly pull off just about any pose that the real Harrison Ford can. Han’s sculpt is totally new, and it’s an amazing piece of work. The proportions look great, certainly better than the last Han, and the detail work on the clothing is just fantastic. The jacket in particular has some amazing texture work, which adds a lot of character to the figure. The shirt and underlying belt are a little on the soft side, and I’m not sure I’m a fan of the pose on his left hand, but those are my only real complaints. The real draw of this sculpt is the likeness. Harrison Ford has a notoriously hard to capture likeness, but this is perhaps the best one we’ve ever seen. There are a few angles where it looks a bit off, but the overall appearance is very close. Now, you may be thinking that, based on the pictures, he really doesn’t look as close as I’m saying. Well, here’s where the paint comes in. For the most part, the paint’s great. The clothing (particularly the coat) has some really great work, which really sells this as a real person. My first nit is the eyes; they aren’t terrible, but they’re a little sloppier than I’d like. However, the major issue here is the hair. The application of the paint is alright, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s simply the wrong color. Instead of being mostly grey with maybe a few streaks of light brown, it’s light brown with just a few streaks of grey, resulting in him looking a fair bit younger than he should. It’s really annoying, because it seriously throws off an otherwise really great figure.* Han only includes one accessory: his signature blaster, which is a totally different mold than the one included with the Series 2 Han.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I found out this figure was hitting stores, I was anticipating him being a chore to find. So, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into my local Target and find him hanging on the pegs, hiding behind a pair of Jango Fetts. I’m not sure I can adequately describe just how much I like this figure. He’s hands down the best Han Solo figure I own, and possibly one of the best Black Series figures to date, and certainly the best of the Force Awakens figures. Yes, the hair thing is annoying, but this figure outshines all those issues, and is just a ton of fun to mess around with.

I think, perhaps, the most dated part of the whole above review is how Jango was the figure I was pushing aside to find this guy.  Believe it or not, when this series hit, the Prequel resurgence hadn’t quite hit in full force yet, and, with the general hype machine that was still going behind The Force Awakens, Han was actually the more desirable figure.  How times have changed on that one.  Beyond that little diatribe, my review of this figure is pretty spot-on, I think.  This was definitely Hasbro’s best Han Solo sculpt for the line at the time, and even now is still a pretty high contender.  I think he gets edged out by Bespin Han, but that’s really it.  I was critical of the original figure’s paint, and clearly that’s the one thing Hasbro wanted to fix, so I must have been onto something there.  And fix it Hasbro did.  The new paint is absolutely night and day.  There was apparently some sort of contractual thing preventing the hair on any Han Solo merch from being a proper grey when it all hit in 2016, but it would appear that’s been lifted, and this figure’s all the better for it.  The new face paint is also perhaps the best upgrade from the entire line, and they’ve even improved on the already high quality paint on the body.  He’s really just an all-around win.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3248: Dark Trooper

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

DARK TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Hulking Imperial combat droids with gleaming black armor and powerful jet boots, the Dark Troopers are a powerful design.”

When last I reviewed a Dark Trooper figure, back in February of 2021, the concept had finally made it live action, courtesy of The Mandalorian‘s second season, which saw them serve as the muscle to Moff Gideon going into the show’s season finale.  It’s been almost two years, but I’m finally following up that review of the Expanded Universe version with a look at a proper show version.  That’s just crazy, isn’t it?  Well, at least we’re finally here.  So, without any further waiting, here’s another Dark Trooper figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Dark Trooper is the 28th figure in the Mandalorian sub-line of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s Phase IV incarnation.  This figure is another deluxe-sized release, the sixth within this particular sub-set.  As with all prior deluxes, he’s shipped on his own, which is honestly pretty solid for the purposes of army building and the like.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  The Dark Trooper sports his own unique articulation scheme, removed a bit from other Black Series figures, barring really only K-2.  It’s generally a pretty good set-up, though I did find the butterfly shoulders a little spongey on my copy, and his knees can’t get a full 90 degree bend.  Other than that, though, there’s a good movement set-up.  The Dark Trooper’s sculpt is an all-new offering, and it’s mostly really good.  The overall appearance is a good recreation of the design as seen on the show, and it works well with the articulation scheme, making it all look really slick and sleek.  The only thing I’m not crazy about is the torso; rather than a solid sculpt, he’s got a sleeve over the torso for his upper armor.  While I don’t totally hate the concept, since it allows for a little more depth, the fact that it’s a softer plastic and it’s also a free-floating piece makes the figure as a whole feel a little less solid than he should.  It does at least look the part, though, and I’m not worried that it’s going to fall apart or anything.  The figure’s color work is on one hand very basic, but on the other exactly what it needs to be.  He’s predominately molded black plastic, albeit with that super shiny finish that all the Dark Troopers sported in the show.  There are a few little spots of accenting, which give him just a little bit more pop, and the application is generally pretty cleanly handled.  The Dark Trooper is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and fists), a rifle, and two blast effects pieces.  The blast effects without any sort of flight stand do seem a bit superfluous, but they’re better than getting nothing at all, and do at least help to disarm the sting of the higher price-point on this guy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Dark Troopers are a fun concept that combines Stormtroopers and droids, so it’s one I’ve always been able to get behind.  I was excited when the show first hinted at them, and even more so when they actually showed up in the show proper.  I knew the figures were a lock, so it was just the waiting game at that point.  Now the wait’s finally over, and the final figure’s not perfect, but he’s still really, really cool.  It’s a great starter version of the figure, but I’d love to see maybe some damaged variants or even one with the charging station at some point in the future.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3236: Captain Rex

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

CAPTAIN REX

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“Captain Rex accompanies Anakin Skywalker to the planet Teth to rescue Jabba’s kidnapped son. Like all clone troopers, Captain Rex believes that the mission always comes first. When he and his fellow troopers are surrounded by battle droids, outnumbered and outgunned, he never wavers in his commitment to the mission, even if it means this battle could be his last.”

The Clone Wars begins with a focus on characters we’ve seen before in the main movie, but to allow for a little bit of visible growth, given its status as an inter-quel, there were a few new characters as well.  Over the course of the series, two of these new characters, Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano and Clone Trooper Captain Rex, become the central focus of the series, as their unique views on the titular conflict allow for quite a journey for both characters.  Today, I’m looking at the first figure of one half of that pair, Captain Rex, today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Rex was figure 4 in the first series of Hasbro’s Clone Wars tie-in line, and was released with the main product launch before the pilot movie hit theaters.  Just before this figure’s main release, there was a special mail-away “Sneak Preview” version, which is more or less the same figure, albeit with an ever so slightly different paint scheme, and slightly different accessories.  The one seen here is the initial release, however.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 24 points of articulation.  The Clones always had the best articulation in the line, and, apart from t-hips instead of universals, it really didn’t get any better than this.  Rex shares a number of parts with the standard Clone Trooper, namely the arms and legs.  The head, torso, and pelvis were unique when the figure first dropped, but pretty much everything on the figure would eventually be re-used elsewhere.  It was generally a pretty strong sculpt.  It’s not perfect, and it certainly doesn’t have the polish of the later Jet Pack Rex, but it was a good effort for the start.  The articulation on the hips is a bit stiff, but he’s otherwise quite posable, and it’s generally a good mix of function and aesthetics.  The helmet on this figure is removable, and it’s probably the weakest aspect of the figure.  Later removable helmets were more consistent with the non-removable ones, but this one’s oddly shaped to accommodate the design set-up.  The underlying head is a passable sculpt, but it suffers from the recurring issue of the early clones, where their faces made them look much older than they should have looked.  Rex’s paint work is fairly involved, and very much on par with the rest of the figures from the same time.  The base work is a little bit on the dark side, especially on the blues, so some of the contrast is lost a bit in some spots.  As a first release, he’s also got a lot of that black wash to add the grimy look to him.  It’s a little heavy handed in some spots, but he’s at least unique when compared to later clones.  Rex is packed with his long blaster rifle, two small blaster pistols, a grapple attachment for the front of the rifle, and two different missiles for it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when the line launched, this was one of the first four figures I grabbed from Target, prior to seeing the movie or the show.  Obviously, I didn’t know who Rex was yet, but I had liked Fordo in the 2D series, as well as his corresponding figure, so I saw this one as at the very least an update to that.  Rex would wind up becoming one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so it was a figure purchase that certainly worked out for me in the end.

#3231: Clone Trooper

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

CLONE TROOPER

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“Clone troopers put up an unrelenting defense against the hordes of battle droids that are pouring into the B’omarr monk monastery. The intrepid troopers are keeping the enemy at bay so that Anakin and Ahsoka can rescue Jabba’s kidnapped son. The clone troopers use their blasters and thermal detonators with skill, focusing exclusively on ensuring that the mission is a success.”

You can’t really do a toyline based on something called “Clone Wars” without a decent focus on the actual clones, can you?  No, that would just be silly.  Thankfully, Hasbro agreed, so their Clone Wars tie-in line was just chock full of Clone Troopers.  They had plenty of focus on named clones as the line continued, but at the beginning, their primary focus was just on building the numbers as quickly as possible.  The best way to facilitate that was kicking things off with a standard, all-white Clone, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Clone Trooper was figure 5 in the first series of Clone Wars, as one of the 8 figures that dropped at launch for the line.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 24 points of articulation.  This figure debuted the standard Clone Trooper body, which this line made a ton of use of….well, mostly.  As with all of the early Clones, he’s one of the best articulated figures in the line, making him awesome for all sorts of great poses.  The body holds up as a respectably offering.  It’s not as accurate as the later clone bodies would, but it’s also better on the articulation set-up, which feels like an okay trade-off.  This figure and a small handful of other Clones close to launch had a different head sculpt than those that followed.  It’s less accurate to the animation model, and not as conducive to matching up with the removable helmets, which is why they changed it pretty quickly.  That being said, I’ve always liked it a little bit more than the later helmet.  Just one of those things that got lost in translation, I suppose.  The paint work on this guy starts out rather basic, since he’s got no markings on his armor, and then gets the heavy wash that all of the early figures got.  The Clone Trooper is packed with a mid-sized blaster rifle, a larger rocket launcher, and a missile.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Clone Trooper was one of the first four figures I picked up from this line, back before the show and movie had hit.  While there was a degree of taking a chance on some of the others, I was already a sucker for a good clone, and even removed from the source material, that’s what this one was.  He was my favorite of the first batch I picked up, and set the standard for my love of all the clones in this line.

#3229: George Lucas in Stormtrooper Disguise

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

GEORGE LUCAS IN STORMTROOPER DISGUISE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

It’s not every film director that gets to have an action figure, but, I suppose it becomes much easier when you’re also the creator of one of the most merchandise-appealing franchises of modern times.  Subsequently, George Lucas, the aforementioned director whom created the aforementioned franchise, has actually had a few action figures over the years.  Thus far, he’s been covered by the smaller-scale, but this time around, he makes the jump to the 6 inch scale, with a figure that’s not a totally crazy exclusive for a change.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

George Lucas in Stormtrooper Disguise is a Fan Channel-exclusive Star Wars: The Black Series offering, released in honor of the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm.  He’s done up in vintage style packaging, largely for the heck of it, I suppose.  This marks our second time getting George disguised as a Stormtrooper; Vintage Collection did it for a mail-away back in 2006, and now we’re getting it again.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  The prior Stormtrooper George notably made use of a rather outdated base body, despite an updated one being part of the same line, so there was a degree of concern that this figure might wind up on the older Black Series Stormtrooper, but this one does at the very least use the upgraded Rogue One/Mandalorian-style Stormtrooper body.  It’s an impressive sculpt, and one of which Hasbro’s gotten a surprisingly small amount of use.  The sculpt is topped off by a brand-new head sculpt, to do that whole George Lucas thing and all.  Lucas appears to be based on his look circa Revenge of the Sith, which is something of an odd choice, all things considered.  The vintage branding comes with it pictures on the box of Lucas from A New Hope, and given he’s dressed as an OT-based design, you’d expect an earlier era Lucas.  But, no, they went with this one, for whatever reason.  It’s not a bad sculpt, perhaps a little bit idealized, but still certainly George.  The figure’s paint work largely matches the standard Stormtrooper, which is generally nice and clean.  The head gets a more involved paint scheme, of course, which is appropriately lifelike.  They’ve also done a rather nice job capturing the greying in his hair.  George is packed with the standard Stormtrooper blaster, as well as a removable helmet, allowing him to pass off as a basic rank and file trooper.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The previous Lucas figures were kind of tricky to get, but I’ve always kind of wanted one of them.  Sure, George may be a slightly weird dude, but he’s also a rather important fixture in a franchise that I’ve spent a lot of time around, so I’m down for having him in some sort of figure form.  Thankfully, Hasbro saw fit to give us a fourth go at him, this time in a far more easily found manner, and making use of a base that’s a solid figure on its own.  He’s got some fun novelty to be sure, and, if you’re not feeling the George Lucas head, he also works out as a basic Trooper.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3221: Obi-Wan Kenobi

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“To gain free passage through Jabba the Hutt’s shipping routes, the Republic agrees to rescue the crime lord’s kidnapped son, Rotta the Huttlet. Obi-Wan learns that Anakin and his team have found the child and are under attack by Separatist forces. Obi-Wan races to join them on the remote planet, bringing much-needed reinforcements to Anakin and his embattled team.”

When the 3D-animated Clone Wars went into production, in order to save trouble on the animation concerning the flow of the robes that were signature to the Jedi Knights, the designs for the characters were somewhat ruggedized. Calling back on Obi-Wan donning a set of Clone armor during a sequence in the 2D Clone Wars, all of the Jedi were granted far more armored appearances, with Obi-Wan himself getting a more unique set of attire, merging his armored and robed looks. He kept the look for the shows first two seasons, and it was present for all of the launch product. Today, I’m looking at the first figure he got based on the design.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi is the second figure in the first series of Hasbro’s Clone Wars tie-in line, which hit shortly before the movie that launched the show in 2008. The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Early in the line, only the Clones were getting full articulation, so Obi-Wan only gets proper movement above the waist, and even that’s slightly more limited.  Below the waist, he gets t-hips, and that’s it.  No knees or ankles.  As a result, he’s a little bit stiff.  The sculpt is at least a decent one.  Like the other early line sculpts, he’s not quite as accurate to the show model as later figures would be, but he gets the general gist of it.  The broader elements are there, with some of the edges rounded and lessened a bit, so that he comes just a little bit closer to the main line.  It’s an appealing look, and it’s at the very least quite in the spirit of the character.  The paint work on this guy is very indicative of its era; the base colors are pretty cleanly applied, and then the whole thing gets a sort of a messy wash over it.  It makes the details of the sculpt pop pretty well, but it’s also a bit heavy handed at times.  Obi-Wan was packed with his lightsaber, an alternate helmeted head, a jetpack, and a missile that can be launched from the pack.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a little bit skeptical about The Clone Wars when the toys first dropped.  I’d liked the 2D version a lot, but I was still pretty iffy on the prequels as a whole at the time.  Nevertheless, I did still grab a small handful of the figures when they launched, with hopes that I’d enjoy the source material.  The movie *wasn’t* what I hoped for, but the show at least picked things up pretty quickly.  Obi-Wan was one of the first four figures I grabbed, because I’ve always been an Obi-Wan guy.  He’s not a perfect figure, and there were better ones later in the line, but this one wasn’t a bad start.

#3219: NED-B

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

NED-B

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Star Wars sure does have a lot of really cool droids.  And, with each successive addition to the franchise, we get a few more really cool droids.  Hey, if they sell, you gotta make more of them, right?  Kenobi had two such droids.  Lola was the one that got the early lead-in promotion for the show, but the one that really seemed to stick out in the show proper was the non-verbal NED-B, a big, lumbering droid that works with the Rebellion in its early days.  So, let’s have a look at a figure of NED-B.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

NED-B is the final figure in the six figure line-up for the Kenobi tie-in series of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Retro Collection.  He’s unique in this series as the only character who’s making his figure debut here, though he’ll be getting a Black Series release early next year.  The figure is the tallest of the figures in this assortment, standing 4 1/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The sculpt is totally new to this release.  Of all the figures in the assortment, this guy feels the least like a proper vintage figure.  There’s just something about the exact sculpting and styling that winds up feeling just a little bit too advanced for the original run.  It’s not bad, and it’s not so drastic that he feels out of place with the rest of the line-up, but it’s notable.  If anything, he feels maybe a bit more on par with something more of the ’90s era, almost like he’s just a bit more of a progression than the other figures.  He certainly captures the spirit of the character, though, and the detailing is all pretty solid.  He’s obviously dialed back a bit from what we see on the screen, but enough of him remains to sell which character it’s supposed to be.  The paint work on this figure is similar to the sculpting in that it’s not bad, but it’s also a bit more advanced than it *should* be for the line.  It certainly does look nice, though, and I appreciate the bright colors on him, especially in comparison the the generally drab colors of the other five figures.  I also kind of dig that they’ve painted sections that wouldn’t really be painted on the vintage versions, as it just ends up making him feel a little bit more finished than he might otherwise.  NED is packed with his hammer, which is a pretty solid extra for him, given its key role in a few of his scenes.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

NED is far and away the figure I wanted the most from this series.  I just really dug his design on the show, and I wanted him in figure form.  He’s interesting, because he at once feels like he’s a natural for this style, and also just a bit too removed for a clean translation.  He’s a bit like Grogu from the first assortment, where he may not quite land the vintage feel, but he’s still a really fun version of the character, so I can’t ultimately complain.  And, like that figure, NED here just makes for a good toy.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3218: Fifth Brother

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

FIFTH BROTHER

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Originally introduced in the second season of Rebels, the Fifth Brother is a character that’s never been all that deeply explored, despite now having been in two different shows.  Like, I’ve watched all of his canon appearances, and I couldn’t really tell you much about the guy beyond that’s he’s got that fancy hat thing going on.  I suppose that’s a pretty respectable thing in Star Wars, though, since distinctive looks tend to be a character’s biggest selling point.  Did wonders for Boba Fett.  Anyway, let’s look at this guy and his fancy hat.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Fifth Brother is the fifth figure in the Kenobi-inspired series of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Retro Collection.  He’s the third of the three Inquisitors included in this assortment, and marks the Fifth Brother’s third figure, following up on a small-scale figure from Rebels and a Black Series figure from Kenobi.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is all-new, though it certainly has its share of similarities with the Grand Inquisitor.  That makes sense, of course, since they’re kind of in the same profession and all.  That said, they’re totally unique from each other when it comes to the actual parts break down.  He’s a little bulkier than the Grand Inquisitor, which makes sense, and allows for the uniform to sit just a little bit differently.  His head, and his face in particular, gets quite a bit of sculpted detail, moreso than the others in the set.  It gives him quite a distinguished look.  The Fifth Brother’s paint work is pretty much on par with the other Inquisitors in the set.  Still feels like a bit too much for a proper vintage paint scheme, but honestly, it still works out pretty well, and I do appreciate the internal consistency.  The Fifth Brother is packed with his Inquisitor Saber, which is the same one included with the Grand Inquisitor.  It makes sense, since they have more or less the same weapon in the show, and it’s definitely the way Kenner would have handled things on a proper vintage figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t have much attachment to this guy.  I mean, honestly, does anybody?  Well, somebody does somewhere, I’m sure.  Like, just statistically, right?  Anyway, I wasn’t invested enough to get the Black Series figure, but since I was planning to pick up the rest of the series, this guy was along for the ride.  He’s not a bad figure.  Not my favorite or anything, but I can see the appeal.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

 

#3217: Grand Inquisitor

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

GRAND INQUISITOR

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

While some of Kenobi‘s returning characters were picking up from where they’d left off earlier in the timeline, there were also a few that were *technically* making their earliest appearances within the timeline.  Today’s focus, the Grand Inquisitor leans heavily on the “technically,” since, via retcon, he was actually present in one scene in Clone Wars, but as far as proper appearances go, the Grand Inquisitor truly hails from Rebels, where he serves as the primary antagonist for the first season, and ultimately closes off his story.  For Kenobi, he’s more of a background character, sidelined for most of the story, but he’s still present enough to justify some toy coverage!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Grand Inquisitor is the fourth figure in the Kenobi-series of Star Wars: Retro Collection, the fifth overall series of the line, and the third at mass retail.  Thus far, this is his first figure from the show, since his Black Series offering is still pending.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He’s sporting an all-new sculpt, obviously meant to be based on his live-action design, though thanks to the styling of the line, he serves as a nice mid-point between live action and animation.  The sculpt on this guy is pretty decent.  Obviously, lighter on the detail side, but all the key stuff is there, and his outfit is actually quite well detailed.  It’s cleanly handled, and the details are well rendered.  He’s got another vinyl cape; this one’s got a far more unique cut to it, which fits the design from the show pretty well.  It does make it a little trickier to get it on and off, but it’s certainly not impossible.  His paint work is again probably a touch too involved for proper vintage coverage, but it’s consistent with that of Reva, so they go well together.  It also still dials things back just a little bit, so it won’t look too out of place with actual vintage offerings.  The Grand Inquisitor is packed with his lightsaber, which is similar to Reva’s, but has a guard that goes all around, accurate to his personal weapon.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I enjoyed the Grand Inquisitor well enough in Rebels, but given how his story wrapped up in that show, I wasn’t really sure there was much more to do with him in Kenobi.  I actually kind of liked the misdirect within the show, and I don’t mind the opportunity to get him in figure form.  This one’s actually a lot of fun, more than I was expecting, even.  He honestly makes me kind of want the proper Rebels cast in this style, just because that seems like it would be pretty nifty.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3214: Reva – Third Sister

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

REVA — THIRD SISTER

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Obi-Wan Kenobi was definitely populated with a lot of characters we’ve seen elsewhere in the saga, but it wasn’t without its standouts in the new character department.  Amongst those new characters was Reva, an antagonistic force throughout the story, whose own journey was run parallel to that of Obi-Wan and Anakin.  After years of exploration of the increasing number of Jedi padawans that made it out of Order 66, her story was a dark reflection of many of them, showing the unfortunate and destructive path that such trauma can impose upon a person.  Oh, and she was also the latest addition to the growing list of “worst characters in Star Wars,” according to a vocal minority of the “fandom.”  She’s just absolutely ruining the franchise, really.  And she’s doing in three separate styles of toy, no less.  The nerve!  Well, I guess this site’s about the be ruined, too.  Just kidding; we already passed that mark years ago!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Reva (Third Sister) is the third figure in the Kenobi-series of Star Wars: Retro Collection, which is the fifth overall series of the line, and the third to get a proper mass release.  This marks Reva’s third figure, following the Black Series and Vintage Collection offerings, though it’s worth noting that they did all hit pretty close together.  Kudos to Hasbro on ruining all of their lines more or less simultaneously!  The figure stands a little under 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  The sculpt is totally unique, with no basis on any earlier offerings.  It’s a pretty nice one, honestly.  The likeness is obviously not meant to be an exact recreation of Moses Ingram, but it’s a good approximation of her look viewed through the lens of the original line.  The body sculpt captures all of the main details from her costume design, and it’s generally nice and sharp in its detailing.  Her cloak goes back to the vinyl construction, which somewhat clashes with the prior two figures, but also feels more appropriate for this particular design.  Kenner did mix cloth and vinyl during ESB, so it’s not entirely without precedent.  As has been the trend up to this point, the paint work is perhaps a little bit too involved for a true Kenner release, but it’s kind of fun to get that slightly idealized set-up.  The two-toned coloring on the outfit actually looks really solid.  Not sure why she’s lacking eyebrows, but, you know, it’s a choice.  Reva is packed with her Inquisitor-style saber, which is a new piece modeled somewhat on the Bespin Luke saber, but with the two blades and Reva’s distinctive single hand guard.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite her supposed ruining of the franchise, I didn’t mind Reva.  You might even say I, like, actually liked her and the role she played on the show.  That said, I’m finding myself not needing every single character in Black Series form.  Something about this release in particular just really spoke to me, and really sold me on the full Retro line-up.  She’s actually a lot of fun, despite perhaps not being the most outwardly thrilling design.  Definitely a nifty addition to the line-up.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.